I am the Other
by Reina Valeria Nox
Summary: Hunters will tell you that I'm John Winchester's daughter. Dean's sister. Sam's twin. Demons will say I'm a vampire slayer. An exorcist. The One who got Away. Angels will hail me as a prophet. The Voice crying out in the desert. They'll all whisper of psychic abilities. Of my murdered fiance. My half-angel son. The daughter I bore my brother. I am Jamie Winchester. I am the Other.
1. 100 Prologue

It's dark outside a house in Lawrence Kansas surrounded by trees._ The story you know, is not the whole story._ Inside the house Mary Winchester and her son Dean are putting Mary's baby son Sam to bed._ You have been told that 22 years ago Mary Winchester died trying to protect her youngest son. _Mary kisses Sam goodnight but does not walk out of the room. Instead she walks across it to a second crib. She kisses a second baby, wrapped in a pink blanket. _What you were not told is that there was another._

The scene is 6 years later at a boarding school in Pennsylvania. John Winchester is bent over a strawberry blonde haired girl who is frowning. Dean is leaning against the Impala, and Sam is seated in the backseat. John hands the girl her backpack and slips a silver charmed bracelet on her wrist. A nun takes the girl's hand and leads her away. _My father, in his quest to avenge my mother's death raised my brothers to be hunters. He could not or would not do the same to me. I, who resembled my mother with each passing day, was sent from his sight and raised in a normal life, with instructions to leave the Winchester name behind me. I was a disobedient child._

The scene shifts to 13 years later. The girl is now 18. She is packing the same backpack with clothes, a map, stakes, and an old looking book. She straps a knife to her belt and pulls on a leather jacket. The nun from before is standing in the door to her room. She puts her hands on the girl's shoulders and then takes her hand. Her charm bracelet falls off and the nun picks it up and places it in girl's hand. She folds her fingers over it and places it against her heart. _My father abandoned me, thinking he was doing what was best for me. He could raise his sons in this life without guilt, but to raise Mary Winchester's daughter to be exactly like her mother, he would not allow for fear of the same fate. He believed I would be safe if he simply let me go. He was wrong. _

Four years later.

A beat-up black pick-up truck rolls into a bar and stops. The driver kills the engine and jumps out. She's pale with a medium build, wavy strawberry-blonde hair pinned back from her face, and striking blue eyes. She pulls a leather jacket and a black backpack from the truck and walks inside, slipping her keys into the front pocket of her baggy blue jeans. She throws open the doors to the bar and heads straight for the counter.

"You Ellen?" The bartender, a middle age woman with long dirty blonde hair turns around. "You pulled me out of pretty dicey gig back up in Boston, so you better have something good for me."

Ellen smirks, putting her hands flat on the bar as she stares at the girl. "You look just like her. Wasn't expecting that." She smiles.

"Just like who?"

"Your mama."

"My m…you knew my mother?" The girl's quiet but arrogant demeanor changes instantly. Her eyes bright up and there's a hint of a smile on her face.

"Sorry honey." As quickly as it came the excitement is gone, and the girl frowns for a moment, her eyes going back to their dull, deep blue shade. "But I know your daddy."

There is a slight bit of redemption in her eyes when Ellen mentions her father. The girl smirks. "When you said you knew who I was I didn't think you meant you knew who I really was."

"Are you kidding? John Winchester is a bit of a legend. So when I hear about this girl going by the name of Winchester. Hear her latest story is she took out a nest of vampires by herself. I connected the dots."

"You ask my father about me?"

"I haven't spoken to your daddy in a long time, kid."

"So why did you call me?"

"You wanna know where your brothers are, right? I know the guy who can help you." Ellen passes a piece of paper to the girl. She looks down at it and then back up at Ellen. "The phone is over there." She nods to the side.

The girl rushes to the payphone and throws in a handful of change. She dials quickly and holds her breath. "Yeah?" A gruff voice on the other end picks up. "Speak up already."

"Bobby?"

"Who is this?"

"You're not gonna believe me till you see me. I'm in Nebraska, but I'll be down to Sioux Falls in 2 days. Wait for me."

"Who the hell is this?"

"You'll know when you see me." She hangs up the phone with a renewed hope. Her eyes are bright again, and Ellen does not fail to notice. She crosses her arms as she looks at the girl whose fishing for her keys. "Thanks." She says with a slight wave as she hurries back to her truck.

Two days later the girl is standing in front of Singer's Auto Salvage. She looks haggard, like she hasn't slept in days, and she gets out of the truck she reaches into her backpack for a handgun. It's insurance. She hasn't seen Bobby in 14 years and she knows he's the shoot first and ask questions later type. She takes off her sunglasses and tucks the gun into the waistband of her jeans, covering it with her leather jacket. "Bobby?" She calls as she takes a step into the yard. As expected Bobby Singer comes out with shotgun drawn, pointed at the girl. "Is that any way to treat John Winchester's daughter?" She holds up her hands and the silver charm bracelet glistens in the fading sunlight. Bobby squints and then his eyes widen in realization. "I'm not Dean, Bobby, you can put the damn gun down." She moves her hair out of her face and turns to meet Bobby's eyes. Bobby lowers the gun and walks over to her. "Hey."

"Jamie Cameron Winchester what in the hell are you doing here?" His voice is more shocked than anything else. She looks exactly like John's old photograph of Mary, except her hair has some red to it. She's Sam's twin sister but Bobby can already sense its Dean she takes after. He never imagined the 8 year old girl he helped John find a place for would be standing before him now. He thought she'd be in school, maybe married, anywhere and anything but the sharp eyed hunter she was. He offered her his arm and she entwined hers with his as they walked up to the house.

"Well to answer your question, I've been looking for Dean. He's harder to track down then my father. Now rumor has it that Sam's back in the life. I was wondering if you knew where they are or where they're headed."

"I should have known you'd be looking those idjits. Last I heard your daddy was been missing for awhile, Dean and Sam hooked up to find him. Dean's been looking for you too. He was trying to track down a certain hunter by the name of Jace Winchester when John went missing. He couldn't find you so he went to get Sam."

"Dean's been looking for me? I didn't know that. I hadn't heard anything about Dean trying to find me. I talked to Jefferson and Joshua both about three months ago and then didn't say a damned thing to me. Did my father know?"

"Of course not. He made those boys swear up and down they'd never ask about you after your daddy left you at that convent. Told them it was for your own good. Nice to see John's plan blew up in his face."

He led her into his study and moved some books off the table. "I take it you and my father weren't on the best of terms after your last meeting."

"I take the fact that you refer to him as "my father" means you haven't been on the best of terms with him in the last 14 years."

"Tends to happen when someone abandons their kid. Now, about my brothers?" Bobby started rifling through some papers. "You looking for a hot spot?"

"No, Dean's cellphone number." He started looking through a different pile. "Uh, damnit where did I put it? Well, you know what I know your old man's by heart and his voicemail has Dean's number."

"No, Bobby don't!" Bobby stopped and looked at the 22 year old blonde who shook her head. "What if he picks up? What he calls back and wonders why you called him? I don't want him to know I'm around. I don't. Not yet."

Jamie suddenly winced slightly. She rubbed her temple. 'You okay?" Bobby walked over to her side.

"I've been getting these headaches the last couple of months." She rubs her head again and then stops and looks at Bobby. "Lawrence? Lawrence, Kansas."

"What did you say?"

"I…I don't know. I just got this really weird feeling that's where they're heading."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah, I can't explain it, but it's like I had this connection to them all of a sudden. I have to go Bobby. I have to see if that's where they are." She grabs a piece of paper and a pen off the desk and scribbles down a number. "This is my number; if they contact you give it to them. I've got to go, Bobby. I've got to put my family back together." She hands him the piece of paper without another word and hurries out the door before Bobby can protest.


	2. 109 Home

Dean and Sam are standing in front of their childhood house in Lawrence, Kansas arguing about their next course of action. Sam, convinced whatever is in the house is the same entity that killed Mary two decades ago. Dean, apprehensive and experiencing flashbacks of the night their mother was killed doesn't know what to do but is trying to hide it. Neither of them noticed the beat up black pick-up truck that has parked across the street, nor the pale girl with strawberry blonde hair in a leather jacket with a hand gun tucked into her jeans and a knife strapped to her belt that gets out. "Then what are we suppose to do?" Sam asks staring at his older brother.

"What are we suppose to do about what?" Dean and Sam turn at the same time. Sam raises an eyebrow at the girl who seems uncomfortably familiar. He stutters for a moment, trying to place her. Dean, however, recognizes her immediately. She looks too much like his mother to be anyone else.

"Jamie?" Dean spits out, taking a step forward. "Is it really you?"

"I hope so." She replies with a grin before almost tackling Dean. She wraps her arms around his neck as though she'll never let go. "Dean." Dean smiles for the first time since this hunt began. He holds the sister he thought he'd never see again close to his chest, his big brother instincts quickly awakened as he takes her in.

"Jamie." Sam finally says when Dean releases the girl so he can look at her, really look at her. He sees his mother in her eyes and her face. It's so intense it almost scares him, but he doesn't want her to move, he doesn't want anything to move, he just wants to keep looking at the sister he hasn't seen in 14 years. "Jamie?" Sam says again.

"Hey Sammy." She says with a tearful laugh. A second later and she's in his arms, hugging her twin for all he's worth, despite the fact he's a good foot taller than her.

"How did you find us?" Dean finally asks, when they're all in the impala on the way to the gas station. "I tried to track you down for two months. You were always a state ahead of me."

"I don't know, honestly. I was at Bobby's and then I just…I just knew." She twists around in her seat to look at Sam. "It was like I connected with Sam for a minute and I could hear his voice in my head. And I knew."

"Woah. Does that happen to you often?"

"Just the last couple of months, why?"

"Because I've had two really strange dreams the last couple of months. One of Jess's death and one of Jenny's."

"Jess and Jenny?"

"Jess was his girlfriend and Jenny is the mom living in our old house." Dean answers and Jamie nods.

"So you have The Shining?" Jamie asks and for the second time Dean forgets the emotion and devastation and uncertainty surrounding the hunt and allows himself to laugh at reaction of his little sister that mirrored his own.

"So anyway, what are we gonna do, Dean?" Sam and Jamie follow Dean out of the Impala. Dean sighs and looks at the two of them.

"We just gotta chill out, that's all. You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?" Jamie crosses her arms and glances between her brothers, but Sam sighs.

"We'd try to figure out what we were dealin' with. We'd dig into the history of the house."

Dean nods. "Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened." Sam goes over and leans against the car. Jamie walks over and stands on Dean's other side.

"Yeah, but how much do we know? I mean, Dad never talked about it much when I was around."

"He didn't after you were gone either. Dean, how much do you actually remember?"

"About that night, you mean?" Dean looks at Sam.

"Yeah."

"Not much. I remember the fire…the heat." Dean pauses for a moment. "And then I carried you two out the front door."

"You did?" Sam asks softly.

"Both of us?" Jamie looks at Sam and then to Dean.

"Yeah, what, you two never knew that?"

Sam and Jamie both shake their heads. "No."

"And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mom was….was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her." Dean finishes.

"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Jamie asks.

"If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times." Dean explains, turning around and leaning on the Impala. He puts his arm around his sister's shoulders. Jamie frowns.

"Okay. So, if we're gonna figure out what's goin' on now…we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it's the same thing." Sam reasons. Jamie nods.

"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time. Someone has to still be around here, right?" Jamie leans slightly into Dean.

Sam pauses before saying anything. "Does this feel like just another job to you?"

Dean and Jamie are quiet for a moment and then Jamie speaks up. "Four years of hunting and I've never been this close to the guys I was hunting with. I hope I can do this."

Dean sighs. "I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom." He walks away.

Sam looks at Jamie and reaches out and puts his hand on around her neck. After a moment she gets off the Impala and follows after Dean. She leans against the corner, listening to Dean talk on his phone. "I'm with Sam and Jamie if you can believe that. And we're in Lawrence. And there's somethin' in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but…." Dean's voice breaks and Jamie resists the urge to go to him. He pauses, barely keeping himself together. "I don't know what to do." He begins to cry. "So, whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad." He hangs up sadly, with tears in his eyes. He turns around and sees Jamie standing there, he takes a step back surprised to see her. She walks forward and reaches out to him, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Jamie." He says softly.

"I'm here, Dean, I'm gonna help you find this thing. I swear it."

Jamie waits in the Impala when Dean and Sam go in to talk to the garage owner their father used to work with. She's found John's journal and is reading through it, curled up in the backseat when Dean and Sam finally come back. "Please tell me you have a lead."

"Well we've got something. Dad went to a palm reader after Mom was killed." Dean tells her as he and Sam get in. Dean drives to the nearest payphone and Sam gets out. Dean and Jamie get out and lean against the Impala.

"So a palm reader?" Jamie goes over and stands beside Sam, looking at the phone book.

"Yeah. Well, there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino. There's, uh…"Sam laughs. "there's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky. Uh…"

Jamie stops him from flipping the page. "Wait go back. Missouri Moseley."

"Wait, wait. Missouri Moseley?" Dean asks, going to look at the book as well.

"What?" Sam asks, looking at Jamie and Dean.

"That's a psychic?" Dean asks.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Sam says. Jamie is already going into the backseat of the car and pulls out John's journal.

"Dean, here." She puts the journal into Dean's hands.

"In Dad's journal…here, look at this." He opens to the first page. "First page, first sentence, read that." He holds it up for Sam.

"I went to Missouri and I learned the truth." Sam reads.

"I always thought he meant the state." Dean remarks with a slight smile. Jamie snickers.

The three of them end up on the couch, waiting as a middle age African American woman leads an elderly man out. "All right, there. Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you." The siblings watch as the man thanks her and she closes the front door behind him. "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener." She says as she turns to the three of them.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asks.

"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news." She tells them. The three siblings look at each other and then back at her. "Well? Sam, Jamie, and Dean, come on already, I ain't got all day." She leaves the room. A confused looks passes between them and they follow her into the next room. "Well, lemme look at ya." She laughs. "Oh, Jamie you're so beautiful, just like your mother. And my, you boys grew up handsome." She points a finger at Dean. "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too." Dean glares at her while Sam smirks and Jamie snickers." Sam." She grabs his hand. "Oh, honey…I'm sorry about your girlfriend." The siblings are shocked. "And your father –- he's missin'?"

"How'd you know all that?" Sam asks her.

"Well, you were just thinkin' it just now." Missouri tells him. Sam raises his eyebrows, surprised.

Dean takes the opportunity to try and find out about their father's whereabouts. "Well, where is he? Is he okay?"

"I don't know." She answers truthfully. She looks at Jamie. Jamie stares back at her.

"Don't know? Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?" There's a hint of disgust in Dean's voice.

"Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please." She tells them. Sam smirks at Dean and they sit down with Jamie in between them. Missouri snaps at Dean. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!"

Dean looks shocked. "I didn't do anything."

"But you were thinkin' about it." She tells him. Jamie smirks. Dean raises his eyebrows. Sam smiles, more than thrilled to hear a woman put Dean in his place.

"Okay. So, our dad –- when did you first meet him?" It's Sam who asks. Jamie stays silent.

Missouri begins her story. "He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say…I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire?" Jamie finally speaks.

"Do you know about what killed our mom?" Dean asks. Jamie reaches over and puts her hand on Dean's knee.

Missouri nods. "A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

Sam looks interested. "And could you?"

"I…." She starts to answer and then shakes her head.

"What was it?" Sam finally asks.

"I don't know. Oh, but it was evil." Missouri tells them softly. " So…you think somethin' is back in that house?"

"Definitely." Sam answers.

"I don't understand."

"What?" Jamie raises an eyebrow.

"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?" Missouri looks at them intently.

"I don't know. But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and finding Jamie and now this house all happening at once…it just feels like something's starting." Sam tells her.

"Oh my god." Jamie sighs and closes her eyes.

"That's a comforting thought." Dean puts his hand on Jamie's.

"So if we take you to the house, do you think you can figure out what's going on?" Jamie asked, squeezing Dean's hand.

Missouri nods. "I can try."

"I hope this works." Sam glances at Jamie as she knocks on the door. They wait patiently for Jenny to answer. A few moments later she opens the door. "Sam, Dean. What are you doing here?" She notices Jamie right away.

"Hey, Jenny. This is our sister, Jamie, and our friend, Missouri." Sam explains pointing to each of them in turn. Jamie smiles at Jenny.

"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house. You know, for old time's sake." Dean tells her, trying to smile.

Jenny hesitates for a moment. "You know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy."

Jamie puts her hand to her temple. "Something to happened." She whispers.

Dean looks at her and then at Jenny. "Listen, Jenny, it's important." Missouri smacks him on the back of the head. "Ow."

"Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset?" Missouri chides. "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but hear me out." Dean looks stunned. Jamie leans against him.

"About what?" Jenny asks.

"About this house."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?" Missouri waits for Jenny's reply.

Jenny looks stuned. "Who are you?"

"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little." Jenny looks unsure.

A few moments later, Missouri, Jamie, and the boys are in Sari's bedroom. Jamie is rubbing her temple again.

"If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it." Missouri tells them.

"Why?" Sam asks.

"This was our nursery, Sam. Isn't that right, Missouri? This is where it all happened?" Jamie looks extremely uneasy.

"Very good, Jamie. There's hope for you, yet." Missouri tells her. Sam glances at the ceiling. While Missouri looks around the room, Dean pulls out his EMF meter. Jamie looks over at him. "That an EMF?"

"Yeah."

"Amateur."Dean glares at her. He nudges Sam and shows him that the EMF is beeping frantically. "I don't know if you kids should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom."

"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asks her. She nods. "How do you know?"

Missouri sighs. "It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' different."

"What is it?" Dean asks.

"Not it." Missouri opens the closet. Jamie practically jumps into Dean's arms. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."

Dean looks at his sister. "Jumpy?" Jamie moves away from him. "What are they doing here?"

"They're here because of what happened to your family. You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected." Missouri explains.

Sam wrinkles his brow. "I don't understand."

Missouri explains. "This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist. A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."

"You said there was more than one spirit." Sam looks at her.

"There is." Jamie answers. She puts both hands on her temples. Dean reaches over and puts his arm around her.

"You can sense it too, Jamie. That's what is causing the headaches. I just can't quite make out the second one."

Dean rubs his sister's shoulder. "Well, one thing's for damn sure nobody's dyin' in this house ever again. So whatever is here, how do we stop it?"

Back at Missouri's house, the four of them are sitting around a table. Jamie is holding an ice pack to her forehead. On the table are different herbs and roots.

Dean's eyes glance around the table. "So, what is all this stuff, anyway?"

Missouri smiles. "Oh, Angelica Root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends."

Dean looks skeptical. "Yeah? What are we supposed to do with it?"

"We're gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east, west corners on each floor of the house." Missouri answers.

"We'll be punchin' holes in the dry wall. Jenny's gonna love that." Dean remarks. Jamie smirks.

"She'll live."

"And this'll destroy the spirits?" Sam asks.

She nods. "It should. It should purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor. But we work fast. Once the spirits realize what we're up to, things are gonna get bad."

Back at the Winchester house Sam goes into one of the rooms with a hammer. He kneels down by the wall and begins using the end of the hammer to hit against the walls. While he is doing this, a plug on the other side of the room takes itself out of the outlet. A lamp begins to move on its own also. The plug snakes its way towards Sam. Downstairs in the kitchen, Dean is punching the wall with a small ax. Jamie is standing beside him holding the bag of herbs. Behind them, a drawer begins to open on its own. In the basement, Missouri is looking around. She brings a bag full of herbs to the wall. She hears a noise and turns around to see a table coming towards her. She screams as it pins her against the wall. Back in the kitchen, Dean and Jamie also hear a noise. Dean grabs Jamie and pulls her down just as a knife hurls itself into a cabinet. Jamie grabs a table and she and Dean place in front of themselves as more knives come through it. Upstairs, Sam is chopping a hole in the wall. The lamp crashes to the ground. Sam turns around to see what the noise was, and the cord wraps itself around his neck. Sam falls to the ground, trying to get the cord off. Eventually, he lays weak on the floor. Dean and Jamie run upstairs and into the room.]

"Sam, no!" Jamie yells. She and Dean rush over to Sam. While Jamie tries to get the cord off, Dean kicks a hole in the wall and places the bag of herbs inside. A blinding white light leaves the room. Once the spirit is gone, Dean goes back over to Jamie and Sam, who is completely weak. Dean and Jamie unravels the cord from around Sam's neck and pull him into a fierce hug. "I thought I was going to lose you." Jamie says exactly what Dean is thinking.

A few hours later, Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Missouri are standing in the extremely messy kitchen.

"You sure this is over?" Sam asks.

Missouri nods. "I'm sure. Why? Why do you ask?"

"Never mind." He sighs. "It's nothin', I guess."

"Jenny's home." Jamie says. They hear Jenny enter the house.

"Hello? We're home." Jenny comes into the kitchen and looks around. "What happened?"

Sam looks sheepishly. "Hi, sorry. Um, we'll pay for all of this." Dean looks confused. Jamie looks at Dean.

Missouri smirks. "Don't you worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Dean stands there, not moving. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop." He begins walking away. "And don't cuss at me!" Dean walks away, muttering under his breath. Jamie smirks, crossing her arms and looking over at Sam. A little while later, Missouri, Jamie, and the boys leave the house. Jenny waves and shuts the door behind them.

Later that night Dean, Jamie, and Sam are sitting in the car. Sam and Jamie both look nervous and uncertain. Dean looks annoyed. "All right, so, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?" He looks at his younger siblings.

"I don't know. I just…I still have a bad feeling." Sam answers.

"I have an even worse feeling. Ow." She puts her hands to the sides of her head.

Dean looks confused. "Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over."

"I just wanna make sure, that's all." Sam says. Jamie shakes her head.

"Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now. Jamie, are you okay?" Not waiting for an answer Dean slides down in his seat and closes his eyes.

"Sam." Jamie reaches out and shakes Sam's shoulder. She points up. Sam looks up at Jenny's bedroom window and sees her screaming, just as in his dream. "Dean!" Jamie shakes his shoulder as well.

"Look, Dean!" Sam points. They rush out of the car and run towards the house.

"Sam, Jamie, you grab the kids, I'll get Jenny." Dean orders. Jamie grabs Sam's hand as they rush inside.

"You get the baby, I'll get the girl." Sam tells Jamie as they hurry upstairs. Jamie runs into Ritchie's room and grabs him. She carries him across the hall. Sam goes to Sari's bedroom, where she is screaming for help.

"Sam hurry!" Jamie says as she's running towards the room.

Sam goes to Sari's bed and picks her up. "Don't look. Don't look!" He tells her. Sam and Jamie rush down the stairs and puts the kids down on the floor.

"All right, Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don't look back." Jamie tells her, putting her brother into her arms. Suddenly, an invisible force makes Sam fall to the floor. He slides backwards into another room, crashing into a table. "Sam!" Jamie yells. Sari screams. "Sari go! Go!" Jamie yells as an invisible force throws her against the wall. Sari runs outside with Ritchie. They rush outside to Dean and Jenny. Dean kneels down to Sari's eye level.

"Sari, where's Sam and Jamie?"

Sari is crying. "They're inside. Something's got them." Panicked, Dean looks at the front door. It slams shut on its own. Dean rushes to the street and opens the trunk of the Impala and grabs a rifle and an ax. He rushes to the front door and begins chopping away at it. Inside the kitchen, Jamie is knocked out cold through the partially busted wall. The fire figure moves toward her. Sam gets flung into a set of cabinets. He stands up and is pinned against the wall by the invisible force. He can't move any part of his body. The fire figure makes its way towards Sam. Dean continues chopping down parts of the door. Eventually, he makes a hole that he is able to step through. He walks through the house, looking for Sam and Jamie.

"Sam? Jamie?" He sees Jamie unconscious on the ground. "Jamie." He kneels down beside her. She coughs and opens her eyes. "Where's Sam."

"Uh." Jamie moans in pain and points to where Sam is. Dean walks over. As he looks at the fire figure, he raises his gun.

"No, don't! Don't!" Sam screams.

Dean looks shocked and confused. "What, why?"

"Because I know who it is. I can see her now." Sam tells him.

Suddenly, the fire vanishes. Instead, standing in front of them is Mary Winchester, exactly as she was the night she died. Dean's expression softens. In shock, he lowers his gun slowly. "Mom?"

Mary smiles and steps closer to him. "Dean." Tears form in Dean's eyes. Mary walks away from him and goes to Jamie. Jamie suddenly feels stronger and is able to stand up. "Jamie, baby girl." Mary says quietly to her before going over to Sam. Dean watches her, never taking his eyes off her. "Sam." Sam smiles weakly, crying. His mother's smile fades. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam asks. She looks at him sadly, but says nothing. She walks away from them and looks up at the ceiling.

"You get out of my house. And let go of my son." Mary commands. Once again, she bursts into flames. When she is entirely engulfed, the fire reaches the ceiling and disappears. The force holding Sam to the wall is released. Dean goes over and puts one of Jamie's arms over his shoulder. Sam walks over to Dean and does the same with Jamie's other arm, and the three of them look at each other, stunned.

"Now it's over." Jamie says. Sam nods.

The next morning, Dean is standing by the car with Jenny, looking through old photos. "Thanks for these." He tells her.

"Don't thank me, they're yours." Dean puts the trunk of photos into the car.

Jamie is leaning against the broken wall when Missouri comes downstairs. "It's over isn't it?"

"For now." Missouri answers. "How are you feeling?"

"Nothing a good night's sleep won't heal." She pauses. "My ability…do you think it will keep growing like this or is it because I'm here and with my brothers?"

"I think there is still much left in your future." She and Missouri walk out of the house to join Sam whose sitting on the front steps of the house.

"Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure." Missouri tells him.

"Not even my mom?" Sam asks her. Jamie looks away.

"No."

"What happened?"

"Your mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out. Your mom destroyed herself goin' after the thing." Missouri explains to them.

Sam looks down. "Why would she do something like that?"

"For us." Jamie answers.

Missouri nods. " To protect her kids, of course." Sam nods, with tears in his eyes. He puts his arm around Jamie. Missouri goes to put her hand on his shoulder, but she stops herself. "Sam, Jamie, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't."

"What's happening to me?" Sam pauses, looking at his twin. "To us."

"I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know." Missouri tells him.

"Jamie, Sam, you ready?" Sam nods and helps Jamie up. They go to the car. Jenny thanks all of them.

"Don't you kids be strangers now." Missouri tells them.

"We won't." Dean tells her.

"See you around." Missouri leaves. Jenny waves.

Dean and Sam turn to Jamie whose fishing around for the keys to her pick-up truck. "So…is this goodbye?" Dean asks, looking at his little sister.

"You don't have to go, you know. You can come with us." Sam tells her.

Jamie looks up at them and smiles. "I think it's best if I stay out of your way. Until you need me again. Don't know worry, I know how to find you." She taps her temple. She turns away but then stops. "Just in case." She takes a piece of paper out of her pocket and scribbles down her cellphone number. "Here." Dean takes the piece of paper and then hugs her. "I love you Dean."

"You too." He tells her.

Sam hugs her. "You gonna be okay to drive back to…"

"Ohio. For the moment, anyway. Until something else comes up."

"Oh, here." Sam looks around for a piece of paper. Jamie hands him her cellphone. He grins and starts pressing buttons. He hands it back to her. "Mine and Dean's. Call us if you need a hand or two."

"I love you too, Sam." She tells him. He and Dean both place a hand on her shoulders. They share a hug and then go their separate ways.


	3. 116 Shadow

Sam, Dean, and John are flung to the floor. A shadow demon is attacking them. He flings them around the room, and fresh scratches appear on their faces. Dean and Sam scream in pain at the marks, while John groans.

"No!" Suddenly Jamie sits straight up. She's holding a handgun. She gasps for breath looking around the darkened motel room. She takes another breath, putting the gun down and picks up the half finished bottle of vodka from the nightstand. She puts it to her lips and takes a swig. "Shit. Shit. Shit." She curses to herself, putting the bottle down, throwing the sheet off her legs and getting up. She flicks the light on and grabs her jeans from the floor. She pulls them on and moves around the room stuffing clothes, her laptop, files, and various tools into her backpack. Reaching into the front pocket of her bag, she pulls out a black wallet and flips through it, exchanging a New York driver's license for one from Illinois and grabs a wad of bills that she sticks into her pocket. She puts the wallet back in the bag and pulls out her cell phone. A number comes up on the screen. "Hello?" She asks, answering the call.

"Jace? It's Andrew."

"Andrew, now is not a good time." Andrew is a fellow hunter. They've just spent the last three days tracking a Wendigo through Mississippi with Andrew's brother and another friend of theirs.

"Aaron, Dan and I think we've tracked down the Wendigo, we're gonna go after it tomorrow night." Jamie glances at the clock on the motel bedstand. It reads 4:35 am. "Jace?"

"I'm listening. Look Andrew, I'm sorry, but something's come up and I need to bail."

"Bail? What? But we're so close. You can't bail on us."

"Look, my brothers are in trouble. I need to get to Chicago as soon as possible." She grabs the vodka bottle and stuffs it into her bag. Her keys are the last thing left. She picks them up and heads for the door. "I'm sorry. I am. But family comes first. Good luck with the hunt." She hangs up the phone and hurries out the door.

"Dean?" She asks into the phone, holding it between her shoulder and ear as she turns off the exit and passes the sign that says "Welcome to Chicago." It's near sunset and she's been driving for over 14 hours. "Dean pick up." She says into the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dean, it's Jamie. I just got into Chicago, where are you?"

"Jamie? How'd you know we were in Chicago?"

"Lucky guess. Where are you?" She asks again. He tells her the name of the motel and gives her vague directions on where to go. She tells him he's horrible at directions and that she'll see him in about 10 minutes.

She makes it to the motel just as Sam gets there. She tucks her handgun into the waistband of her jeans and grabs her bag, walking up to him. "Jamie?" He's surprised to see her, but he hugs her tight and she hugs him back. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a vision, you two have trouble."

"No kidding. You know about the Daeva?"

"Oh is that what the shadow thing is called?" She asks as he opens the door to the motel room. They walk in and find Dean waiting for them.

"Dude, I gotta talk to you." They all say at once.

Dean and Sam fill Jamie in on the Daeva, and then Sam tells them what he saw Meg doing her apartment just a few minutes before. "So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean asks with a smirk.

"Looks like she was using that black altar to control the thing." Sam says. Jamie looks interested. Dean, however, looks amused.

"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl." He chuckles. Sam rolls his eyes. "And what's the deal with that bowl again?"

"She was talking into it."

"You mean the way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails?" Jamie asks.

"Exactly. She was communicating with someone." Sam tells her.

"With who? With the Daeva?" Dean asks.

"No, you said those things were savages. No, this was someone different. Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's comin' to that warehouse." Sam says. Dean thinks for a moment and glances at some files on a nearby table. He sits down at the table and looks through them.

"Holy crap."

"What?" Jamie goes over to Dean and leans against the table.

"What I was gonna tell you earlier. I pulled a favor with my…" he clears his throat, Jamie rolls her eyes. "friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victim…we missed something the first time."

"What?" Sam goes over to look at the records.

Dean shows the both of them. "The first victim, the old man, he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born." He points to something on the page.

"Lawrence, Kansas." Sam whispers in shock.

"Mmhmm." Dean picks up the second file. "Meredith, second victim, turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from." The paper reads "Lawrence, Kansas". Sam sits down across from Dean, clearly shocked. Jamie grips the edge of the table, her knuckles turn white.

"Holy crap." Sam finally says.

"Yeah." Jamie says.

"I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom. That's where everything started. So, you think Meg's tied up with the demon?" Sam looks at both his brother and his sister.

Dean nods. "I think it's a definite possibility."

"Okay, but I don't understand. What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in? I saw them attacking you." Jamie tells them. Her knuckles are still white. Dean sees this and pries her hands off the table edge.

" You know, it beats me. But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation. Jamie's vision doesn't come true and we possibly know where the demon is." Dean reasons. Jamie flexes her fingers to get the blood circulating again.

Sam shakes his head. "No, we can't. We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her." Sam looks over at his sister. "Right, Jamie?"

"Yeah, it's better we know what's going on instead of walking in blind." She pauses, thinking about their twin abilities. "In a manner of speaking."

Dean looks at them. "I'll tell you one thing. I don't think we should do this alone." He gets up and grabs his cellphone.

"I'm gonna go get the stuff out of the car. Come on, Jamie." Sam gets up and Jamie follows him out to the Impala. Sam opens the trunk and props it open. Jamie's eyes widen as she sees what's inside. "Impressive, right?"

"Absolutely." Her eyes scan the weapons and various tools. "Are those brass knuckles?"

"Yup." Sam replies taking out a couple firearms. "Okay, what else?"

"Holy water definitely, and that crucifix." Jamie helps Sam get as much stuff as possible. "My journal is full of exorcism rituals." She remarks, grabbing John's journal before Sam closes the trunk.

"Good." Sam says as they get back into the motel. Dean is leaving a message on John's voicemail when they get in. Jamie goes over to her bag and pulls out her journal so Sam can see it.

"We think we've got a serious lead on the thing that killed Mom. So, uh, this warehouse—it's 1435 West Erie. Dad, if you get this, get to Chicago as soon as you can." Dean hangs up.

"Voicemail?" Sam asks.

"Yeah." He gestures to the bags. "Jesus, what'd you get?" Sam and Jamie chuckle.

" We ransacked that trunk. Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, Jamie has exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything." Sam explains. Dean nods. Jamie takes out her handgun and hunts around for ammunition.

"Damnit, all I have are silver bullets." She says as she looks into her ammunition case.

"Silver bullets, what were you doing hunting a werewolf?" Sam asks.

"Wendigo, actually."

"Let me see that." She hands Dean her gun. He looks at it and then picks up three clips. "I got ya covered, sis." She nods. They begin loading their guns silently.

"Big night." Dean finally says. Jamie is strapping her gun belt to her waist. Sam looks up.

"Yeah. You nervous?" Sam asks.

"No. Why, are you?"

"No. No way." They are silent again for a moment. "God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?"

Dean opens his mouth but it's Jamie who speaks. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?"

"I know. I'm just sayin', what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month. Go back to school—be a person again." Jamie and Dean look at each other and then to Sam.

"You wanna go back to school?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing."

"Huh." Dean says. Jamie gets up and pulls out the half finished vodka bottle.

"Why, is there somethin' wrong with that?" Sam asks.

"No. No, it's, uh, great. Good for you." Dean tells him. Jamie walks away from them, bottle in hand.

"I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam looks at Dean and then to Jamie.

Jamie puts the bottle down. "What I've been doing the last four years."

"It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt." Dean says in agreement.

"But there's got to be somethin' that you want for yourself." Sam says to them.

"Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam." Dean walks over to the dresser. "You either, Jamie."

"Dean…" Jamie walks over to him.

"Dude, what's your problem? Dean is silent for a while, then turns back to Sam.

"Jamie, Dad always told me that it was best if you didn't hunt. That that was the best way I could keep you safe was if I stayed away from you. I don't believe that anymore. And Sam, why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?"

Jamie doesn't speak but Sam does. "Cause Dad was in trouble. 'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom."

"Yes, that, but it's more than that, man." He returns to the dresser and is silent again, then once more turns to Sam. "You and me and Dad and Jamie…I mean, I want us….I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again." He finally says.

"We haven't been that kind of family in a long time." Jamie says quietly.

"Dean, we are a family. I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before." Dean looks heartbroken. Jamie goes over and hugs him.

"Could be." He says softly.

"I don't want them to be. I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way." Sam says.

"Me too, Dean. I'll be around if you need me, but I've done this by myself for four years and I can't see doing it any different." Jamie tells her.

They all share a look and then gather their stuff and head for the door. At the warehouse the siblings climb the elevator gate and reach the top room. They see Meg standing at the altar, speaking in an ancient language. Quietly, they squeeze through the space between the gate and the wall. They draw their guns and move to the other side of the room, hiding behind some crates.

"Guys." Meg calls to them. The three Winchesters look at each other, stunned. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

"Well, that didn't work out like I planned." Dean remarks. Meg turns around to face them.

"Why don't you come out?" She says. Dean, Jamie, and Sam come out from behind the crates." Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Sam says to her, his gun still drawn.

"And Jamie…or should I say Jace?" She clicks her tongue. "You should have stayed put, honey."

Jamie isn't fazed. "So, where's your little Daeva friend?"

"Around. You know, that shotgun's not gonna do much good." Meg tells them.

Dean grins. "Oh, don't worry, sweetheart. The shotgun's not for the demon."

"So, who is it, Meg? Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?" Sam asks.

Meg smiles. "You." The Daeva begins to form on the wall. It knocks Sam to the ground and throws Dean and Jamie into the crates. A claw-like scratch appears on Sam's face. The three of them are knocked unconscious.

When they come to, they're tied to three separate posts. Meg is sitting in front of them. Jamie wakes up first and immediantly looks down at her waist. Her gun belt is gone. She looks up at Meg whose holding the gun belt. She smirks and tosses aside, out of Jamie's reach. Dean wakes up. They look at each other and then to Sam, whose just starting to come to.

"Hey, Sam? Don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend...is a bitch." Dean tells him.

"I can't believe I fell for this. Some psychiac, huh?" Jamie remarks, looking between her brothers.

Sam realizes something. "This, the whole thing, was a trap. Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it?" Meg laughs. "And that the victims were from Lawrence?"

"It doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw us in, that's all. Right Meg?" Jamie says.

"Not bad for a crap psychiac." Meg tells her. Jamie glares.

"You killed those two people for nothin'." Sam spits.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less."

"You trapped us. Good for you. It's Miller time. "Dean smiles. "But why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we Dean?" Meg leans in closer. "But I bet your siblings are."

"This trap isn't for us." Jamie says. Dean is puzzled, but Sam has also figured it out.

"Dad. It's a trap for Dad." He says. Jamie nods. Dean looks at Meg, who smiles at him.

"Oh, sweetheart you're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good." He tells her.

"He is pretty good. I'll give you that." She walks over to him and sits down, straddling his legs.

"Get off my brother." Jamie says to her. She smiles in reply, ignoring her.

"But you see, he has one weakness." She continues.

"What's that?" Dean asks.

"You. He lets his guard down around his kids, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town. And he'll come and try to save you. And then the Daevas will kill everybody, nice and slow and messy."

"Well, I've got news for ya. It's gonna take a lot more than some….shadow to kill him." Dean says with the upmost confidence. Sam and Jamie don't look so sure.

Meg shakes her head. "Oh, the Daevas are in the room here, they're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see."

"Why you doin' this, Meg? What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?" Sam finally asks.

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do. Loyalty. Love. Like the love you had for Mommy…and Jess."

"Go to hell." Sam yells.

"Baby, I'm already there." She smiles and slides over to Sam.

" Bitch, keep your hands to yourself!" Jamie yells.

Meg again ignores her. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty." She leans in to whisper in his ear. "I think we both know how you really feel about me. You know, I saw you watching me changing in my apartment. Turned you on, didn't it?"

"Get a room, you two." Dean says, but more for Jamie's benefit then anyone elses. He can sense how angry she is.

"I didn't mind." Meg continues. "I liked that you were watching me. Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun." She begins kissing his neck.

Dean takes out his knife and looks at Jamie. Jamie smirks, her bonds are already cut.

"You wanna have fun? Go ahead then. I'm a little tied up right now." Sam says. Meg smiles and continues to kiss him. A noise on Dean's side of the room makes her stop. She gets up and walks behind Dean's post. She sees he has a knife in his hand. She takes it away and tosses it into a corner. Meg swings around to the other side of the post, and smiles at Dean, who chuckles guiltily. She looks at Jamie, who looks at her with the upmost disgust. She again smiles in return. She slides back over to Sam.

"Now, were you just trying to distract me while your brother cuts free?" Meg asks Sam.

Sam shakes his head. "No. No. That's because I have a knife of my own." Meg is confused. Jamie gets up as Sam breaks free from his ropes and grabs Meg's shoulders, then knocks his head against hers. She falls to the floor while he groans in pain.

"Get Dean free, I've got the altar!" Jamie yells to Sam. She rushes over to the altar and overturns it. Sam grabs his knife and cuts Dean free. Suddenly, the shadow demon appears and grabs Meg. She is dragged across the floor and crashes through the window, falling down to the street below. They walk over to the window and see Meg sprawled on the sidewalk, dead.

"So, I guess the Daevas didn't like being bossed around." Sam says, a little bit impressed.

"Yeah, I guess not." Jamie says with a smirk. "Damn I wish I had done that though."

"Hmm, easy Jamie." Dean puts his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, Sam?"

"Hm?"

"Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets-o'-crazy, huh?" Jamie laughs, and Dean smiles they walk away, heading back to the Impala so they can get back to the motel.

"Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Dean asks when they get back to the motel. Sam is carrying their weapons and other various tools. Jamie holding the broken gun belt.

"That bitch owes me a new belt when I see her in hell." She remarks.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again—better safe than sorry." Sam says in reply to Dean. Dean unlocks the door and they enter the room. They see the outline of a man standing by the window.

"Hey!" Dean yells. Jamie grabs her gun from the belt. Sam turns on the light. The man turns around. It is John. The siblings are stunned. Jamie drops her gun belt and the handgun along with it. John smiles at them. "Dad?" Dean finally says.

"Hey, kids." Dean and John walk towards each other and share a long, emotional hug. Sam watches sadly. Jamie is obviously uncomfortable. Dean and John pull apart a few seconds later. "Hi, Sam." John says looking over at his youngest son.

"Hey, Dad." Sam says softly. He places the bag full of weapons on the floor.

John finally looks at Jamie. She staring at the gun belt on the floor. He walks over to her and puts his fingers under her chin, making her look up at him. "Jamie." He says softly. "You look…"

"Just like your mother." Jamie finishes for him.

"You've been hunting for 4 years?" John asks.

"Yeah." Jamie replies. He nods.

"Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry." Dean finally says.

"It's all right. I thought it might've been." John tells him, turning back to the boys.

"Were you there?" Jamie asks.

"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?" John asks.

"Yes, sir." The three of them reply in unison. It startles them and they all look at one another.

"Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before."

"The demon has?" Sam asks.

"It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell, actually kill it." John says.

Dean is interested. "How?" John smiles.

"I'm workin' on that." He tells them.

"Let us come with you. We'll help." Sam suddenly says. Jamie looks away. Dean gives Sam a warning look.

John shakes his head. "No, Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in a crossfire. I don't want you hurt."

"Dad, you don't have to worry about us." Sam tells him.

"Of course I do. I'm your father." He pauses. "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."

"Yes, sir."

"It's good to see you again. It's been a long time."

Sam nods. "Too long." He and John embrace, and Sam is crying. John is tearful. A minute later, they pull apart. John turns back to Jamie.

"Jamie, I…I'm sorry."

Jamie starts crying. "Daddy…I…" They hug.

The four of them look around tearfully. Suddenly, the shadow demon attacks John. He is thrown into a set of cabinets and falls to the ground. Sam also falls.

"Daddy!" Jamie yells. Dean and Jamie look at each other.

"No!" Dean starts to go for Jamie. He is thrown to the floor as well. Jamie looks at the scene before her and is thrown back against the wall. The Daeva continue to attack. The four of them are flung around the room. They groan and scream in pain. Fresh scratches appear on their faces. Jamie and Sam crawl to the bag of weapons on the floor.

"Get me a flare." Sam says to Jamie. She removes a flare from the bag and gives it to him.

"Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!" He lights the flare, and the room is instantly filled with smoke and a brilliant white light. The shadow demon vanishes. The four of them try to feel their way around the room, coughing and sputtering.

"Dad!" Dean yells.

"Over here!" Dean makes his way to John and helps him up. Sam pulls Jamie up and she grabs her bag and her gun belt. Sam follows them out of the room, carrying the bag of weapons. Sam, John, Jamie, and Dean exit the building and walk down an alley to the Impala. Sam puts the bag in the backseat of the car.

"All right, come on. We don't have much time. As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back." Sam says.

"Wait, wait. Sam, wait. Dad, you can't come with us." Dean tells him.

"What? What are you talkin' about?" Sam asks. Jamie also looks away.

"You boys, you're beat to hell." John says. "You too Jamie."

"We'll be all right." Dean assures him.

"Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons." Sam looks at Dean, mad he'd even suggest splitting up.

"Sam! Listen to me! We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop, they're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's…he's stronger without us around. And Jamie…Jamie, we've got to let her go too. We drag her into this with us and we're gonna get her killed. Just like Mom. We've got to split up to protect each other."

Sam's jaw drops, he stares past Dean to his sister. "Jamie, you can't go."

"I've got to, Sam. I've got a group of hunt…friends down in Biloxi who are going after a very nasty Wendigo and I left them high and dry to come out here. This isn't where I'm supposed to be right now. Maybe someday, but not right now."

Sam shakes his head, turning to John. "Dad, no." He puts a hand on his father's shoulder. Dean and Jamie watch sadly. "After everything, after all the time we spent lookin' for you, please. I gotta be a part of this fight."

"Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son. Okay, you've gotta let me go." All four of them are silent for a moment, close to tears. Finally, Sam pats his father's shoulder once, then lets go. Jamie and John hug and John and Dean share a look, then John walks to his truck. Once there, he looks back at them one more time. "Be careful, kids." He gets in his truck and drives away.

Jamie looks at her brothers. Dean and Sam hug her at the same time. "I won't ever be that far away, you know." She whispers, before stepping back and walking over to her pick-up. "I love you." She mouths before getting in.

The drive back to Biloxi is harder than the drive down. She cusses at herself for forgetting the bottle of vodka. She cusses herself for not being able to let her brothers in. For pulling herself away. Fourteen years is a long time to be without family, but she knows that for a little longer this is the way it has to be.


	4. 122 Devil's Trap

Jamie dropped her bag down on the bed of her motel room and sighed. She reaches up and pulls her hair loose. It's not strawberry blonde anymore; it's been colored brown, and the dark color makes her skin look paler. She took off her leather jacket, throwing it down beside her bag. "Damnit, forgot the booze." She muttered to herself as she dug out her laptop and a folder from her backpack. She opened the laptop and as it was switching on she pulled some papers out of the folder and grabbed a lighter from the bottom of her bag. "Goodbye Kansas City ghost, the pleasure was all mine." She smirked as she lit the papers on the fire and then dropped them in the ashtray on the table. Turning back to her computer she signed into her email address and waited for it to come up. At the same time she picked up her phone and went through the voicemail.

"You have eight new voicemail messages." Her phone gawked at her. Jamie rolled her eyes. The first voicemail was from a young guy claiming his bedroom was haunted, which she promptly deleted. The second was a hang up. The third and fourth concerned kidnappings that the parents swore were cult related. Jamie wrote down names and information, not that she'd really look into it. It wasn't triggering any sort of reaction from her ability, which generally met it was human and not supernatural. The fifth wasn't actually a voicemail, just someone who stayed on the line too long, same with the sixth. The seventh was from Andrew and Jamie immediately skipped over the eighth and the hit the redial button.

"Hello?" Asked the tired voice on the other end.

"Andrew?"

"Hey! Jace, hey. I heard you just banished like three ghosts in Kansas City."

Jamie chuckled. "Word travels fast."

"I have connections. Listen, I've got word of a djinn up in Wyoming, my boys and I are heading out there to check it out. Wanna come? We can swing by and grab ya."

Jamie was quiet for a minute. "Oh what the hell, you're gonna need me anyway." She finally said. Andrew laughed on the other end. "Yeah, come and get me. Damn pick-up is about to die anyway." She told him the name of her motel. He told her they were about 2 hours away and she assured him it was plenty of time for her to get ready. She hung up and her phone beeped, signaling the unanswered eighth message. Jamie switched it to speaker as she put her phone down and walked into the bathroom. She switched on the light just as the recording told her the message was 2 hours old. Walking over to the sink she grabbed the brush she had left there the previous night.

"Jamie, it's Dean…" The message began. She pulled the brush through her hair. "I've been trying to call you for the last couple of days." Dean sounded really shook up. She frowned as she continued to pull on the brush. "I guess you're working a gig. I um…Dad's back, and we lit up after a nest of vampires…" Jamie cursed to herself, putting the brush away. Vampires were one of her specialties. She was a little disappointed she had missed that. "Anyway, we're tracking the demon, we think he's close. But then…something has Dad." She had been about to tie her hair up again and stopped. Her hair fell loose down to her shoulders. "Sam and I are on our way over to Bobby's, if you get this please, please meet us there." The message ended and Jamie found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. After a minute she picked up her phone and dialed Dean's number.

"Hello?"A voice said after a minute.

"Sammy?" She asked, recognizing the voice was not her older brother's but her twin's. "It's Jamie, where are you guys?"

"Uh...good question." She heard the phone fumbled with and Sam ask Dean how far they were from Bobby's. "We're still a couple hours out."

"Okay. Um, I'm just outside of Nebraska, it's gonna take me a little bit to get up to Bobby's."

"You're just outside Nebraska?" Sam asked surprised.

"Yeah, why?"

"She was only a couple hours away?" She hears Dean yell, he sounds almost hysterical from anger. She sighs.

"Let me talk to him." She says to Sammy. He holds the phone up so Dean can here. "I was a working a case, Dean." She says firmly into the phone. "There were three poltergeist in a warehouse in Kansas City, killed five people, I had to banish them. I didn't know. You could have let me know sooner what you were up too. Vampires are my freakin speciality."

"I wanted to call you sooner. I wanted to call you weeks ago."

"Weeks? We haven't talked since Christmas."

"Well don't blame this all on me. What about those visions you get?"

"You think I can control when I have those? Can Sammy? Didn't think so."

"I thought you two had this weird twin connection. You could hear each other."

"I haven't been able to hear Sam in months!" At that point she could hear Sam telling Dean to lay off and he put the phone back to his ear. "Look, Sam, tell Dean I'll be up there in the morning. And we're gonna get Dad back, I promise." They said goodbye to each other and hung up. Jamie pauses for a second and then looks back in the mirror. Her blue eyes are full of tears. There's a pair of scissors on the sink. She snatches them up and within minutes she's chopped her hair off to her chin.

The drive to Bobby's is long. Ace of Spades by Moterhead plays most of the way, until she gets sick of it and then Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival starts playing and she finds herself singing the words at the top of her lungs. It's a Sam song, she decides, but the lyrics are ones Dean could appreciate. "I hear the voice of rage and ruin." She stops singing; her hand instantly goes to her temple. The headaches have been bad for months, and they're always worse the moment something evil approaches. She can't figure out why. The visions don't give her headaches, not that she has them very much anymore, but the pain from the presence of evil does. They Every Rose has its Thorns by Poison starts to play, and Jamie jacks the volume up as loud as it will go. The headache goes away. The music makes the drive go by faster, before she realizes it she's pulling into Bobby's. There are junk cars around and hubcaps nailed to the side of the house. A large dog is chained to a post and is lying on the hood of an old tow truck.

She parks the pick-up and gets out. Her leather jacket is hung over the seat and she pulls it out, tucking her handgun into her jeans before putting it on. "Hey Bobby." Bobby is on the porch waiting for her. "My brothers here yet?" She asks as she walks up the steps. Bobby nods, holding the door open for her.

"They just got here." Inside, there are books stacked everywhere. It's very untidy and cluttered with papers on every wall. Jamie walks through to where Dean and Sam are. She hurries over to them and Dean pulls her into his arms. He mutters something of an apology for the phone conversation. She hugs him for a long moment before pulling away and hugging Sam. Bobby picks up two round silver flasks with crosses on them and hands one to Dean. Sam sits down at a cluttered desk starts reading a very large book. "Here you go." Bobby says to Dean.

"What is this, holy water?" Dean asks.

"That one is." Bobby tells him pointing to the one he's holding. He holds out the other flask. "This is whiskey." He takes a swig of whiskey and hands it to Dean, who also drinks. Jamie takes it out of his hands, sips it and then sets it down. She moves some of the papers around on the desk where Sam is and sits down beside him.

Dean turns to Bobby. "Bobby, thanks. Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure we should come."

Bobby shrugs it off. "Nonsense, your Daddy needs help."

"Well, yeah, but last time we saw you, I mean, you did threaten to blast him full of buckshot. Cocked the shotgun and everything."

Jamie had picked up the flask and was in the middle of taking another drink. However at Dean's comment she spits most of the whiskey out in surprise and laughs. Dean glances behind him and smirks at her.

Bobby snickers. "Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people."

"Yeah, I guess he does."

"None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get him back."

Sam looks up from the book. "Bobby, this book... I've never seen anything like it." Jamie looks over Sam and then down to the book.

Bobby comes over to Sam and sits on the corner of the desk opposite from Jamie. "Key of Solomon? It's the real deal, alright."

Sam points to one entry on the page. "And these, uh, these protective circles. They really work?"

"Hell, yeah." Bobby answers. "You get a demon in - they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel." Sam and Jamie look at each other and chuckle.

Dean goes over to them. "Man knows his stuff." He says of Bobby, grinning.

"I'll tell you something else, too. This is some serious crap you boys stepped in." Bobby tells them. Jamie gets off the table so she faces Bobby.

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" Sam asks, looking up from the book.

Normal year, I hear of, say, three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops." Bobby tells them. Jamie's face drains of color.

"Yeah?" Dean questions.

" This year I hear of 27 so far." Bobby continues. "You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us." He pauses. "A lot more."

Sam, Dean, and Jamie look at each other. "Do you know why?" Sam asks.

"No, but I know it's something big." Jamie starts rubbing her temple, headache is coming on. She glances over the window and takes a step towards it. "The storm's coming, and you boys, Jamie, your Daddy ..you are smack in the middle of it."

Dean notices Jamie has left. He glances over towards the window. "Jamie, you okay?"

"Yeah…I just…" She rubs her temple again. "I have a headache."

The dog starts barking outside. "Rumsfeld." Bobby goes to join Jamie over to the window the dog stops barking with a whine.

"Bobby, what is that?" Jamie demands, looking at him. He looks out the window and sees the chain hanging broken and the dog nowhere in sight. Both of Jamie's hands go to her temples. She gasps.

"Jamie." Dean starts to move toward her.

"Something's wrong." Bobby says.

"No something's here." Jamie says, looking at Dean. At that moment Meg kicks in the door and saunters in. Dean slips the holy water flask out of his pocket.

"No more crap, okay?" Meg says. Dean comes at her, unscrewing the flask, but Meg hits him and sends him flying into a stack of books. He appears to be knocked out.

"Dean!" Jamie yells. Sam steps in front of Bobby and Jamie, placing himself between them and Meg.

"I want the Colt, Sam…the real Colt…right now." Meg tells them. Sam and Bobby are slowly moving across the room and Meg follows them. Jamie slips out from beside Sam and moves in the opposite direction towards Dean.

"We don't have it on us." Sam tells Meg. "We buried it."

Meg growls, frustrated. "Didn't I say "no more crap"? I swear after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I got to tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you two…three chuckleheads. Lackluster, men. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

Dean and Jamie step into view before her. "Actually, we were counting on it." Dean tells her. Jamie smirks. Meg turns to look at him. Dean and Jamie stare at her and then look up at the ceiling. Meg also looks up and sees a large protective symbol etched there.

"Gotcha." Jamie says with a grin. They tie Meg to a chair in the middle of the floor and sit down. Meg snarls. "You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask."

Bobby comes back in with a very large canister of salt. "I salted the door and windows. If there are any demons out there they ain't getting in."

Dean nods and stands up, moving around Bobby, Jamie, and Sam to stand in front of Meg. "Where's our father, Meg?" he asks her.

"You didn't ask very nice." Meg remarks, mocking him.

"Where's our father, bitch?" Dean says again, this time with more force. Jamie looks away. Sam looks down.

"Jeez. You kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, I forgot, you don't." The comment hits Dean below the belt. He lunges at her, putting his hands on the chair arms.

"You think this is a frigging game? Where is he? What did you do to him?" He demands.

Meg smirks, proud of herself that she hit a nerve. "He died screaming. I killed him myself." Dean just looks at her with hate, then hits her across the face. "That's kind of a turn on…you hitting a girl."

It's Sam's turn to look pissed. Dean gets in her face. "You're no girl."

Bobby has seen enough. He stands up and moves into the next room. "Dean." He calls.

Dean follows and Sam moves up to him. "You okay?" Jamie takes another look at Meg and then joins her brothers. She crosses her arms and leans against the wall.

"She's lying. He's not dead." Dean tells them.

Bobby shakes his head. "Dean, you got to be careful with her. Don't hurt her."

"Why?"

"Because she really is a girl, that's why." Jamie finally speaks up. She glances toward Meg's direction again and then looks at her brothers.

Sam looks confused. "What are you talking about?"

"She's possessed." Jamie says.

"That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?" Bobby asks. Jamie looks away.

Dean shakes his head. "Are you trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" Jamie looks back at him, and their eyes meet. Bobby just nods. Dean looks at Meg, who is staring back at him. "That's actually good news."

"So what do we do?" Sam asks.

"We exorcize it." Jamie says. Dean nods. Jamie walks over and grabs her bag. Sam starts looking through a book for an exorcism ritual. Jamie pulls out a rosary and her journal and flips it open. She walks back over and shows it to Sam. Sam looks at Dean and Dean looks at both him and Jamie. They move over to Meg.

"Are you gonna read me a story?" Meg asks sweetly.

"Something like that. Hit it, guys." Dean tells them. Sam puts his arms around Jamie's shoulders; he claps his hands together over her heart and leans in so he can read from the book.

"Regna terrae, cantate deo, psallite domino..."The twins continue to read in Latin.

Meg looks shocked and turns back to Dean. "An exorcism? Are you serious?"

Dean smiles. "Oh we're going for it, baby. Gead spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards."

"Tribuite virtutem deo." Sam and Jamie read. Meg flinches in pain. Jamie and Sam stop reading. Jamie looks at Dean. Meg looks over her shoulder at Sam.

"I'm gonna to kill you." Meg yells at the twins and then she looks at Dean. "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body."

Dean isn't phased. "No, you're gonna burn in hell. Unless you tell us where our Dad is." Meg just smiles at him. Dean smirks. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan." He glances up at Sam and Jamie.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica..." Meg has been shaking and obviously in pain while Sam and Jamie read the exorcism ritual. She finally gasps in pain and Sam and Jamie stop.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his sons, his daughter, one last time. That's when I slit his throat." Meg says between clenched teeth.

Sam and Jamie start reading again. "Ergo…" Dean leans down to Meg.

"For your sake, I hope you're lying. Cause if it's true, I swear to God, I will march into hell myself and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me God!" Dean spits into her face.

"Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae." A wind starts to blow through the room. Sam grips Jamie tighter. "Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt..." Meg starts to show signs of being in pain again.

"Where is he?" Dean demands.

"You just won't take "dead" for an answer, will you?"

"Where is he?"

"Dead!"

Dean starts yelling. "No, he's not! He's not dead! He can't be!" Dean is obviously getting very upset and angry. Jamie and Sam stop reading and look at him with concern. "What are you looking at? Keep reading." Dean orders his younger siblings.

Sam and Jamie sigh. Sam adjusts his grip and leans back in over his sister's shoulder. "Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." The chair Meg is in starts to slide around the circle. "Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi..."

"He will be!" Meg finally confesses.

"Wait!" Jamie and Sam cease reading on Dean's command. "What?"

"He's not dead." Meg tells Dean. "But he will be after what we do to him."

Dean is slightly skeptical. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't."

"Sam! Jamie!"

"A building! Okay? A building in Jefferson City." Meg tries to look away.

"Missouri? Where, where? An address!" Dean presses her.

"I don't know."

"And the demon…" Jamie asks.

" The one we're looking for, where is it?" Sam finishes.

"I don't know! I swear! That's everything. That's all I know." She looks at Dean with all honesty.

Dean's face is stoned. "Finish it." He orders, glancing at his brother and sister.

Meg looks up frightened. "What? I told you the truth!"

"I don't care." Dean tells her, just as honestly.

"You son of a bitch, you promised.

"I lied!" Dean declares. "Jamie? Sam?" Jamie and Sam look at each other. Jamie opens her mouth, but Sam doesn't. When they don't say anything Dean looks at them. "Jamie! Sam! Read." He walks by them.

"Maybe we can still use her. Find out where the demon is." Sam says quietly.

"She doesn't know." Jamie says, looking up at Dean.

"She lied." Sam says.

Dean will have none of it. "Sam, there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there. We've got to help her."

Bobby comes up to them. "You're gonna kill her."

"What?" Dean asks.

"You said she fell from a building. That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside. You exorcise it…that girl is going to die." Bobby explains.

"Listen to me, both of you, we are not gonna leave her like that." Dean declares.

Bobby looks shocked at Dean. "She is a human being."

"No. I agree with Dean. We need to pull it out of her." Jamie reasons. "Let her be at peace."

"Yeah, we're gonna put her out of her misery. Jamie, Sam, finish it." Dean says.

Jamie looks up at Sam, who looks at her and then looks at their brother and Bobby, not sure what's the right thing to do. He looks over at Meg.

"Sam, I can't finish it without you, come on." Jamie tells him. Sam takes a breath and he and Jamie start to read again. "Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae, terogamus audi nos, terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri…"

Meg throws her head back and screams. The demon leaves through her mouth in a black cloud and spreads out in the protective circle in the ceiling before disappearing. Meg leans forward and blood starts to drip from her mouth. The boys, Bobby, and Jamie stand there looking at her, not really sure it's over. Meg slowly lifts her head.

"She's still alive." Dean finally says. He turns to Bobby. "Call 911. Get some water and blankets." Bobby rushes off.

Jamie bends down in front of Meg. "Gloria patri et filio et spiritui sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum." She looks up at Dean and Sam and nods to them. They untie Meg.

"Thank you." Meg whispers.

"Shh, shh. Just take it easy, alright?" Sam tells her.

"Come on. Let's get her down." Dean says.

"Careful, careful." Jamie warns them, moving out of the way. They lift Meg from the chair. There is the sound of bones crunching and Meg screams in pain. They lower her to the floor. Jamie takes off her jacket and slides it under her head.

"Sorry, sorry. I got you. I got you. It's okay. It's okay." Sam says, trying to keep her calm.

"A year." Meg says to him in a strained voice.

"What?" Sam asks.

"It's been a year."

"Shh, just take it easy."

"I've been awake for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did…it's a nightmare."

Dean looks at her. "Was it telling us the truth about our Dad?"

"Dean." Jamie warns. "Not now."

Dean shakes her off. "We need to know."

"Yes." Meg says, gasping a little. "But it wants... you to know... that... they want you to come for him."

"If Dad's still alive, none of that matters." Dean tells her, but moreso for the benefit of his siblings. Jamie and Sam share a look. Bobby comes in with a blanket and a glass of water. He hands the glass to Dean while Jamie and Sam cover her. Dean holds her head up so she can drink.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam finally asks.

"Not there. Other ones. Awful ones." Meg answers.

"Where are they keeping our Dad?" Jamie asks.

"By the river." Meg tells her. "Sunrise."

"Sunrise". Dean repeats. "What does that mean?" He looks down at Meg, but Meg is no longer breathing. She dies. "What does that mean?" Dean asks in frustration.

"You better hurry up and beat it. Before the paramedics get here." Bobby tells them as he goes over to them. The siblings look at each other and then get up and head out of the room.

Dean turns to Bobby. "What are you gonna tell them?"

"You think you guys invented lying to the cops? I'll figure something out." He picks up Jamie's bag and holds it out to her. She takes it with a smile. He then hands the Key of Solomon book to Sam. "Here take this. You might need it."

"Thanks." Sam and Jamie say at the same time. They head for the door.

Dean stays behind for a minute, looking at Bobby. "Thanks... for everything. Be careful, alright?"

Bobby nods. "You just go find your Dad. And when you do, you bring him around, would you? I won't even try to shoot him this time."

Sam and Jamie are waiting for Dean at the door. They smile before heading out. Dean stops and smiles at Bobby before following them outside.

Jamie goes to her truck and pulls out a few things, before going back over to the Impala where Dean and Sam are waiting. She opens the backseat and tosses them in. "I don't have much for fighting demons. I have exorcisms and holy water and a couple rosaries."

"Yeah, we aren't much better off." Sam admits.

"We'll do the best we can with what we got." Dean says. The siblings nod and then get in the car.

When they get to Jefferson City Dean parks the Impala by some train tracks near the river. Jamie gets out and goes through her journal, propping herself up against the car. Sam is looking through the Key of Solomon book on the roof of the car, spinning a marker in his hand. Dean is at the back of the car, loading up guns and putting them into his duffle bag. Dean is very solemn and Sam looks over at him, concerned.

"You've been quiet." He says. Jamie looks up from her journal, looking from one brother to the other.

"Just getting ready." Dean tells him.

"He's gonna be fine, Dean." Sam says. "Right Jamie?"

"Right." She agrees.

Dean doesn't answer and Sam flips to another page of the book. He sees a symbol and picks up the book to walk to the open trunk lid. He rubs off the dirt and starts to draw on the lid. Dean sees this and gets agitated. "Dude, what are you drawing on my car!" He demands.

Jamie puts her journal down and studies the symbol. "Sam, this is a demon trap isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's called a Devil's trap. Demons can't get through it or inside it."

Dean looks skeptical, still pissed Sam is drawing on his baby. "So?"

Sam moves around to the other end of the trunk. "It basically turns the trunk into a lockbox."

"So?" Dean asks again.

"So, we have a place to hide the Colt while we go get Dad."

"What are you talking about? We're bringing the Colt with us."

"Wait, what?" Jamie turns to Dean, caught off guard.

Sam shakes his head. "We can't, Dean. We've only got three bullets left. We can't just use them on any demon, we've got to use them on the demon."

"No, we have to save Dad, Sam, okay? We're gonna need all the help we can get." Dean tells him.

"I thought that was what I was here for." Jamie tries to smirk, tries to lighten the mood. Fifteen years and she's still the one stuck in the middle of their fights.

"Dean, you know how pissed Dad would be if we used all the bullets? Dean, he wouldn't want us to bring the gun." Sam tries to convince him. Dean will have none of it.

"I don't care, Sam. I don't care what Dad wants, okay? And since when do you care what Dad wants?"

"We want to kill this demon. You used to want that, too. Hell, I mean, you're the one who came and got me at school!" Sam yells. Dean scoffs. Jamie moves to step between them. "You're the one who dragged me back into this, Dean. I'm just trying to finish it!"

"Well, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that? You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? Jamie and I are gonna be the ones to bury you. You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge."

"Dean." Jamie whispers. She's standing between them now. She's just shorter then Dean by enough that he and Sam can argue over her head.

"That's not true, Dean." Dean scoffs again. "I want Dad back. But they are expecting us to bring this gun. They get the gun, they will kill us all. That Colt is our only leverage and you know it, Dean. We can not bring that gun. We can't."

"Sam's right." Jamie finally says, hoping the 2 against 1 odds will convince Dean to stop.

"Fine."

"I'm serious, Dean."

"I said fine, Sam." Dean takes the Colt out of his jacket pocket and holds it up to show Sam and Jamie before putting it in the trunk.

"God I hate it when you two fight." The siblings start to walk down by the river. They step up beside some trees and Dean stops.

"Hey, hey." Sam and Jamie stop and look at him. "Think I know what Meg meant by Sunrise."

Sam looks over and sees an apartment building with a sign out front that says "Sunrise Apartments". Jamie looks and starts to rub her temple. "Oh no."

"Son of a bitch." Dean cusses. "That's pretty smart. I mean, if these demons can possess people they can possess almost anybody inside."

"Yeah, and make anybody attack us." Sam agrees.

"They can jump in and out at will too." Jamie says.

"And so we can't kill them…a building full of human shields." Dean shakes his head.

"They probably know exactly what we look like, too. And they could look like anybody."

"Yeah, this sucks." Jamie crosses her arms.

"Yeah, out loud." Dean sighs.

Sam nods. "Tell me about it. Alright, so, how the hell are we going to get in?"

Dean looks over at the building for a minute. "Pull the fire alarm, get out all the civilians."

Jamie catches on immediately. "Brilliant, yeah."

Sam turns to his siblings."Okay, but then the city responds in, what, seven minutes?"

"Seven minutes exactly." Dean tells him. Sam finally understands. The siblings look at each other and each takes a breath.

Sam walks in the front door and goes to a fire alarm on the wall. Just as he's about to pull it a man comes walking down the hallway. Sam moves to the stairs like he's going up them, but when the man leaves through the front door he quickly goes and pulls the alarm.

Outside the Building

People are leaving and firemen are coming in. Dean and Jamie walk up to one of the firemen, holding hands. "Hey, what's happening? Is it a fire?" Dean asks. Jamie tries to look worried.

"We're figuring that out right now, sir. Just stay back." The fireman moves the two of them away.

"Well, we've got a Yorkie upstairs and he pees when he's nervous..." Jamie tries hard to look devastated.

"Yeah we'd be just heartbroken if anything happened…"

"Sir, ma'am, you have to stay back."

Sam moves past them just then. Jamie holds something behind her back. Sam walks behind them, taking whatever it is out of Jamie's hand and going to the fire truck. He finds a compartment and picks the lock.

Inside the building Dean, Jamie, and Sam come down the hallway dressed in full fireman. Dean is using his EMF to check the doors of the apartments.

"I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Dean tells his siblings.

"Really?" Jamie asks.

Sam turns to him. "You never told me that."

"Ow!" Jamie says suddenly. Dean's EMF starts reading high.

"Guess that means we've found them." Sam says.

They can hear the demons walk up to the door. One of them looks through the peephole. "This is the fire department. We need you to evacuate." Dean says firmly.

The man steps behind the door and nods for the woman to open it. She unlocks the door and the boys shove it open. The woman is thrown backward as Dean, Jamie, and Sam come through. They spray the couple with water from their tanks and it burns them. It's holy water. Dean punches the man and shoves him into a closet. "Come on!" He yells.

Sam and Jamie grab the woman off the table and shove her in as well. Jamie leans against the door and it lurches as the demons inside try to get out. "They're too strong for me!" Dean rams his shoulder against it to help Jamie hold it.

"Hurry up!" Jamie and Dean both tell Sam. Sam grabs a canister of salt from the duffle bag and runs a line around the closet door. As soon as he finishes it the pounding stops. Jamie takes a deep breath as she moves away from the door. They take off the fireman gear and move to the bedroom door. They slowly open it and see John on the bed.

"Oh my god." Jamie whispers. She and Dean go over to their father.

"Dad?" Dean leans down, putting his head on John's chest and listens. "He's still breathing." Sam looks relieved. Dean starts shaking John. "Dad, wake up. Dad!" Jamie balls her fist and rubs his chest. Dean takes out a knife and is about to cut the restraints around John's wrists.

Sam's voice stops him. "Wait. Wait."

"What?" Dean and Jamie looks up at Sam.

"He could be possessed for all we know." Sam is messing with the duffle bag.

"What, are you nuts?" Dean asks, not believing Sam would suggest such a thing.

Jamie looks less shocked. "Dean he's right, we got to be sure." Sam takes a flask of holy water out of the duffle bag and Jamie moves her hand away as Sam sprinkles it on John. It has no effect. John moans and starts to come around.

"Sam? Why are you splashing water on me?"

Jamie and Dean both look relieved. "We're here, Daddy."

"Dad, are you okay?"

It takes John a second. "They've been drugging me. Where's the Colt?"

"Don't worry, Dad, it's safe." Sam assures him.

Jamie takes out her knife and helps Dean cut him free.

"Good boys. Jamie. Jamie, good girl." John tells them. Dean and Jamie get him free and Sam goes over to them.

"Sam, give me the bag, you help Dean." Jamie says to him. Sam hands her the bag and gets on John's other side. "Careful." She tells her brothers as they lift him up.

Dean and Sam start carrying John out of the bedroom. Jamie puts Dean's duffle over her shoulder and starts to follow them. Suddenly she grabs her temple. "Dean!" The front door suddenly bursts open revealing a possessed man and fireman. The Winchester siblings immediately react.

"Go! Go!" Sam says, backing up.

"Back! Back!" Dean echos as they carry John back into the room.

Jamie pulls them into the bedroom. "Come on!" They go back into the bedroom and close the door locking it. An axe suddenly comes through the door. Jamie jumps. "Jesus! Mary and Joseph." She drops the duffle bag and runs over to the fire escape and opens it. "Dean." She gestures for John. Dean brings John over. Sam runs a line of salt at the bedroom door. Jamie, Dean and John are already out on the fire escape.

"Sam, let's go!" Dean calls to him. Sam tosses him the duffle bag and goes through the window out onto the fire escape. He runs salt along the window sill.

Dean and Jamie help John down onto the street and Sam moves ahead of them.

Jamie's headache hasn't stopped. She looks up toward Sam's back. "Sam!"

Sam is suddenly attacked by Tom the man who was with Meg in Lincoln. He pins Sam down on the street and starts beating him to death. Dean puts John down.

"Stay with Dad!" Dean yells at Jamie. He goes to his brother's aid. "Sam!"Dean runs over and kicks the man in the face, but it has not effect. Dean is suddenly thrown onto a parked car, shattering the windshield.

"Dean, no!" Jamie yells. The man goes back to beating Sam. Jamie gets up and starts to rush towards Sam. Suddenly there is a gunshot and the man gets a bullet through the head. Jamie screams. He falls off of Sam , dead. Dean is standing with the Colt. He puts it away and comes over to his brother. Jamie rushes over to both of them.

"Sam!" Dean picks him up. "Sam, come on! Come on!" Dean gets Sam onto his feet, and Jamie loops his arm over her shoulders. They look at the dead man. The demon is dead and so is the man it was possessing. "Come on. We got to get out of here."

Jamie looks at Dean. She hopes the two of them are strong enough to support Sam and John. Dean goes to pick John up. Jamie holds Sam. "Sam you gotta help me a little bit." She tells him, as they leave the area in a hurry.

They end up driving to a cabin in the woods. It's dark out now. Inside Sam is pouring salt along the window sill. Jamie is standing behind him looking worried. Sam's face is a mess; bruised, bloody, and swollen. When he's done, Jamie walks over and looks at his face. Dean comes into the room.

Jamie looks over at him. "Hey."

"How is he?" Sam asks.

"He just needed a little rest, that's all. How are you, Sam?" Dean walks over and looks at his brother's face a little concerned.

"I'll survive." He tells his brother.

Jamie snickers softly. "Maybe."

They turn to their brother. "Hey, you don't think we were followed here, do you?" Sam asks. Jamie looks at Dean.

"I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up."

"Yeah." Sam agrees. He looks at his brother. "Hey, uh... Dean, you, um... you saved my life back there."

"So, I guess you're glad I brought the gun, huh?"

"Man, I'm trying to thank you here."

Jamie shakes her head. "Don't start you two." Jamie walks over and leans against Dean.

Dean is quiet for a minute. "You're welcome." Sam walks across the room. "Hey, guys?"

"Yeah?" Sam and Jamie reply at the same time.

"You know that guy I shot? There was a person in there."

Jamie looks up, putting her chin on Dean's shoulder. "You didn't have a choice, Dean."

"Yeah, I know, that's not what bothers me."

"Then what does?" Sam walks over to him.

"Killing that guy, killing Meg. I didn't hesitate, I didn't even flinch. For you two or Dad, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just, uh ... it scares me sometimes." Jamie leans her head against his shoulder. Dean puts his arm across her back. Sam just looks at him, not knowing what to say. John comes into the room.

"It shouldn't. You did good."

"Dad…" Jamie whispers softly, moving back a little from Dean.

"You're not mad?" Dean asks.

"For what?"

"Using a bullet."

"Mad? I'm proud of you. You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. Jamie too. But you watch out for this family. You always have."

After a moment Dean answers back. "Thanks." The wind suddenly picks up and the lights start to flicker. Dean and Sam both look at Jamie, but she doesn't reach for her head.

"Now what?" She asks. They all go over to the window.

"It found us. It's here." John tells them. He turns to Sam.

"The demon?"

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door."

"I already did it."

"Well, check it, okay?"

Jamie finally reaches up and rubs her temple. Sam glances at her. "Okay." He leaves the room.

John turns to Dean. "Dean, you got the gun?"

"Yeah."

"Give it to me."

Dean takes the Colt out of his jeans. "Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It disappeared."

John shakes his head. "This is me. I won't miss. You just concentrate on protecting your brother and sister. Now, the gun, hurry." Jamie moans in pain. "What's wrong, Jamie, you okay?" Jamie gives him a weird look.

Dean hesitates and looks down at the gun. Jamie grabs Dean's arm. She moves behind him. He glances quickly at her and back to John.

"Son, please." Dean starts to back up a few steps with Jamie.

"Give me the gun. What are you doing, Dean?"

"He'd be furious." It's now very clear to Dean that this is not his father. Jamie knows too. Her power, whatever its capacity is screaming that the demon is in the room with them, not outside the walls.

"What?"

"That I wasted a bullet. He wouldn't be proud of me, he'd tear me a new one."

John just looks at him as Dean raises the gun, pointing it at him and cocking it. Jamie swallows hard.

"You're not my Dad."

"Dean, it's me. Jamie tell him." Jamie shakes her head and grips Dean's side tighter.

"No. I can sense evil and evil is not out there, it's in here. It's in you."

"I know my Dad better than anyone. And you ain't him."

"What the hell's gotten into you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Stay back."

Sam comes into the room and is shocked to see Dean pointing the gun at John, and Jamie shaking behind Dean. "Dean? Jamie? What the hell's going on?"

"Your brother and sister have lost their minds."

"He's not Dad." Dean says firmly. Jamie moans again, letting go of Dean as she grabs the sides of her head. She squeezes her eyes shut.

Sam watches his sister's reaction. "What?"

"I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him." Dean starts to get upset.

Jamie echos Dean's words from just a moment before. "He's not Dad." She says as she opens her eyes. "Evil's not out there. Evil is in here." She says again.

"Don't listen to them, Sammy."

Sam looks at Dean and Jamie. "How do you know?"

Dean is fighting back tears and Jamie is crying. "He's ... he's different." Dean says.

Jamie shakes her head. "Oh God, I can feel it. Dean…"

"You know, we don't have time for this. Sam, you wanna kill this demon, you've gotta trust me."

"No. Sam, no." Jamie says. Sam looks back and forth between his father and his brother and sister. Dean glances at him, but doesn't say anything else to convince him. Jamie grips Dean's free shoulder. Dean rolls his shoulder so that his free hand is holding Jamie behind him.

"Sam?" John asks.

Sam looks back and forth. "No. No." He moves over to stand by his brother and sister's side. He puts his arm up, so that Jamie is blocked by both him and Dean. John looks at them.

John looks resolved. "Fine. You're both so sure, go ahead. Kill me." John looks down and waits.

"Dean, do it. Do it now." Jamie begs. Dean holds the gun on him, but can't pull the trigger.

"I thought so."John looks back up and his eyes are yellow. Sam lunges, but is thrown against the wall, pinned there. Dean and Jamie are thrown against another wall, Dean drops the Colt. Jamie screams, her head feeling like it's going to explode.

"Oh shut up, Jamie." John takes a step in that direction.

"Don't you go near her." Dean rasps.

"Or what?" John asks, mockingly. He stands in front of Jamie. "Such a disobedient child." He strikes her across the face. "I'm gonna enjoy this." Dean and Sam both struggle against the force holding them in place.

Jamie lets out a sob but she stops screaming and opens her eyes, breathing heavily. "I'm alright." She whispers, trying to look at her brother.

John picks up the colt. "What a pain in the ass this thing's been."

"It's you, isn't it? We've been looking for you for a long time." Sam says.

"Well, you found me."

"But the holy water?" Sam and Jamie look at each other, both wondering why it didn't work.

"You think something like that works on something like me?" Jamie starts mumbling something in Latin. John turns to her and strikes her across the face again. "That won't work either."

Sam tries to fight the force that has him pinned to the wall, but fails. "I'm gonna kill you!"

John turns to look at him. "Oh, that'd be a neat trick. In fact," he puts the gun down on a table. "here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy."

Sam looks at the gun, but nothing happens.

"Jamie?" John looks at the girl, pin against the wall. Jamie doesn't even look at the gun. Tears run down her face. "I always knew you were just a pathetic little girl. You should have listened to your daddy." Jamie growls softly. "Well, this is fun." John walks over to the window beside Dean. "I could've killed you a hundred times today, but this..." He sighs. "This is worth the wait."Dean struggles, but is still pinned to the wall. John looks over at him. "Your Dad, he's in here with me. Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says "hi", by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood."

Dean clenches his teeth."Let him go, or I swear to God-"

"What? What are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice." He comes over to Dean. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."

"Who, Meg?"

"The one in the alley? That was my boy. You understand."

Dean looks at him with disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What? You're the only one that can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?" He smiles at Dean. "Oh, that's right. I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs don't make a right. And I'm gonna start with poor, pathetic Jamie over here." He looks at Jamie. "And then I'm gonna kill you." He looks back at Dean.

Dean looks over at his sister and then to John. "You son of a bitch."

"Dean, it's alright. He doesn't have the balls to kill me." Jamie stares John down, who only laughs in return.

"I wanna know why. Why'd you do it?" Sam suddenly says.

John turns to him. "You mean why did I kill Mommy and pretty, little Jess?"

"Yeah."

John turns back to Dean. "You know, I never told you this, but Sam was going to ask her to marry him." He backs up toward Sam. "Been shopping for rings and everything." He turns to Sam. "You want to know why? Because they got in the way."

"In the way of what?"

"My plans for you, Sammy. You... and all the children like you." He looks at Jamie. "And you. The one who got away."

Jamie doesn't say anything for a moment. "What…what do you mean?" She finally asks.

But all John says in return is "You won't get away this time."

Dean has grown impatient and pissed. "Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh? Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."

John goes to him. "Funny, but that's all part of your M.O., isn't it? Masks all that nasty pain, masks the truth."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"You know, you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam, he's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you." He turns to Jamie. "And especially to you. The daughter he abandoned. He knew you'd up just like Mommy one day, Jamie. That's why he abandoned you. That and he couldn't stand to look at you, cause you look just like her."

"Go to hell!" Jamie spits.

Dean tries to take John's attention off of Jamie. "I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh? Oh wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em." Dean just smiles at him and John looks at Dean. He steps back and puts his head down. When he looks back up Dean suddenly yells in pain.

"Dean! No!" Sam yells.

"Dean! You son of a bitch!" Jamie tries to get her hands starts to bleed heavily from his chest. Sam starts to struggle against the force pinning him. Jamie, however stops struggling, instead she finally sees the Colt.

Dean is overwhelmed by the pain. Finally he begins to beg. "Dad! Dad, don't you let it kill me!" John looks at him again and smiles. Dean starts screaming in pain.

"Dean! No!" Sam screams, struggling harder. Jamie's breathing is getting very irregular, but she tries to hide it. She doesn't stop looking at the Colt. The blood is flowing out of Dean. Sam struggles as hard as he can to break free. Blood is running out of Dean's mouth.

"Dad, please."Dean passes out.

"Dean!" Sam cries. Jamie gasps for breath, but she doesn't break eye contact with the Colt.

John gets a weird look in his eyes. "Stop." He whispers. Sam and Jamie are suddenly let go. The second Jamie is free the Colt flies into her hands. "Stop it."

Sam dives over to his sister and grabs her, pulling her back as John turns to them, eyes yellow once again, and Jamie, holding the gun with both hands points it at him. Her hands are shaking. Sam tries to hold Jamie's arms as steady as possible.

"You kill me, you kill Daddy." John warns.

Time seems to slow to a standstill. Jamie and Sam are suddenly connected, they feel each other. "We know." They say at the same time, and Sam moves Jamie's arms down at the same second that Jamie fires the gun, shooting John in the leg. He falls down and so does Dean.

"Dean!" Jamie and Sam rush over to their brother. "Oh God." Jamie grabs Dean's shoulders, holding him in her arms. "Oh my god."

"Dean? Dean, hey? Oh God, you've lost a lot of blood." Sam says. Jamie's visibly upset again, and Dean's blood is all over her hands and on the Colt. She's got her hands pressed against Dean's heart.

"Where's Dad?" Dean asks.

"He's here." Jamie says.

"He's right here. He's right here, Dean." Sam tells him.

"Go check on him." Dean says weakly.

"Dean." Sam protests.

"Go check on him." Dean says again.

"I've got him." Jamie hands the Colt to Sam. A desperate look passes between them.

Sam gets up and goes over to check on John. He is laying motionless on the floor. "Dad? Dad?"

John suddenly looks up "Sammy! It's still alive. It's inside me, I can feel it. You shoot me. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son!" Sam cocks the Colt and aims the gun at John. "Do it now!"

"Sam, don't you do it. Don't you do it." Dean says from across the room, his voice weak and breaking.

"Shh, Dean." Jamie says, holding her brother in her lap.

"You've gotta hurry! I can't hold onto it much longer! You shoot me, son! Shoot me! Son, I'm begging you! We can end this here and now! Sammy!" John Winchester for the first time in his life, begs.

"Sam, no." Dean whispers.

"Sammy, do it!" Jamie finally shouts her voice breaking as she starts to sob.

"You do this! Sammy!" Sam starts to lower the gun.

"Sam, do it. Please, just do it." Jamie sobs.

"Sam..." The demon suddenly leaves John in a black cloud from his mouth. It disappears through the floor. John gasps and then looks at Sam accusingly. Jamie sobs on the floor, holding Dean. Sam looks away and then offers his hand to his father. He helps him up and John groans in pain, holding his leg. He leans against the wall.

"Dean needs help, now." Jamie says as Sam comes over. Sam pulls her to her feet and then pulls Dean up. He starts to carry him out of the house to the car. "Come on, Dad." Jamie gestures to her father. He leans against her and she half helps, half drags him to the car.

Sam is driving with John by his side. Dean is in the back seat with Jamie. John gasps in pain, Dean is slumped in the back seat and Jamie is holding unto him. "Look, just hold on, alright. The hospital's only ten minutes away." Sam says. "Jamie? How's Dean?"

"He's still breathing." Jamie pauses, her hands and shirt are covered in blood. "God, Sam he's still losing too much blood."

John looks at Sam. "I'm surprised at you, Sammy. Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-eye on this? Killing this demon comes first, before me, before everything." Sam looks in the rear view mirror at Dean and Jamie. Jamie looks up and meets her brother's eyes in the mirror.

"Don't start." She mouths, looking down at Dean.

Sam nods. "No, sir. Not before everything. Look, we've still got the Colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, alright? I mean, we already found the demon..."

An eighteen wheeler suddenly slams into the passenger side of the Impala at full speed, driving it sideways in front of it. The driver of the semi is sitting behind the wheel. His eyes are black. Dean, Jamie, Sam, and John are all unconscious in the car with blood all over their faces.


	5. 201 In my Time of Dying

"Bad Moon Rising" is still playing on the radio, the Impala is wrecked to hell. The demon-possessing-a-truck-driver steps out of his truck and walks over. John and Dean are both unconscious. Jamie twitches, her eyes open slowly. Sam swallows, barely awake. The demon pulls the driver's side door off its hinges to reveal Sam pointing the Colt at him. "Back. Or I'll kill you, I swear to God." He says.

"You won't. You're saving that bullet for someone else." The demon says.

Sam cocks the gun. "You wanna bet?" He dares on the demon. It smiles; the black demon-ichor pours out of the man, who collapses. Sam uncocks the gun, drops his head back in relief.

Man looks around in shock. "Oh my god! Did I do this?" He asks.

Sam ignores him. "Dad?" He asks, trying to look over at his father. "Dad! Jamie? Dean? Dean!"

"I'm awake, Sammy." Jamie moans. She moves her arm a little and then gasps in pain. "Shit. Sam I can't move."

"I can…barely. How's Dean?"

"He's bad, Sammy." She whispers.

A rescue helicopter descends to the site, and all four Winchesters are being loaded onto stretchers. John and Dean are still unconscious, Sam and Jamie are awake.

"Significant passenger side intrusion. Unresponsive. BP is 180 over 60, heartrate 95." Jamie hears the paramedic say as he loads her father into the helicopter.

Sam is hysterical "Tell me if they're okay!"

"Sammy?" Jamie calls. Her stretcher is next.

"You have to stay still!" One the paramedics says. Both Sam and Jamie ignore her.

"Why won't you tell me about my brother?" Jamie demands, but her voice is weak.

"Are they even alive?" Sam asks.

In a room, Dean sits up, works his jaw, gets out of bed. He is wearing a white t-shirt, blue hospital pants, and nothing else. He goes into the hallway. "Sam? Jamie? Dad? Anybody?" He goes down the stairs to the front of the hospital and finds a nurse's station. "Excuse me. Hi. I, uh, i think I was in a car accident, my dad and my brother, I just need to find them." The nurse is unresponsive. "Hello?" He snaps his fingers. "He goes back upstairs, panicked, and finds his own body on the bed, intubated and dying. His face registers nothing but shock.

A moment later though, Dean turns, relieved, seeing Sam and Jamie enter. They stop at the door and stare at their brother's body, breathing heavily. Sam's face is busted up and one of his wrists is taped. Jamie has a deep scar down the length of her face and her knee is in a brace. "Sammy! Jamie! You two look good. Considering." Dean says happy to see them.

"Oh, no." Sam whispers. He puts his arm over Jamie's shoulders. She frowns, her eyes puffy from crying.

"Man, tell me at least one of you can hear me." Dean says, looking from one sibling to the other. "How's dad? Is he okay? Come on, you're the psychics. Give me some ghost whispering or something! Not even a headache?"

The doctor enters and addresses the younger Winchester siblings. "Your father's awake. You can go see him if you like."

"Thank god." Dean and Jamie say at the same time. Dean looks at Jamie, but she doesn't look at him.

"Doc, what about our brother?" Sam asks. Jamie looks at him and then at Dean's body.

"Well, he sustained serious injury: blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema." The doctor explains to him.

"Well, what can we do?"

"Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up. If he wakes up."

Jamie looks up with tears in her eyes. "If?"

"I have to be honest-"

Dean starts to get pissed off when he hears the doctor's pessimistic opinion of his condition. "Oh, screw you, Doc, I'm waking up."

"Most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. He's fighting very hard. But you need to have realistic expectations."

"Come on, guys. Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. Sam? Jamie?" Sam takes a deep breath, rubbing his sisters shoulder. Jamie looks up and tears run down her face. After a few moments they leave and cross the hall into John's room.

"Hey guys." John is lying in a hospital bed, his arm in a sling. Awkwardly one-handed, he pulls something out of his wallet. "Here. Give them my insurance."

Sam takes the card John gives him, smiling as he reads it. "Elroy McGillicutty?" Jamie wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, snickering softly.

"And two loving sons and daughter. So, what did the doctor say about Dean?" John asks, looking at them expectantly. Jamie looks away.

Sam shakes his head. "Nothing. Look. The doctors won't do anything, then we'll have to, that's all. I don't know, I'll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him." Jamie looks up at his comment, and then over to the open door, across the hall towards Dean's room.

"We'll look for someone."

"Yeah."

"But Sam, I don't know if we're gonna find anyone."

"Why not? I found that faith healer before."

"Right, that was, that was one in a million."

"So what? Do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?"

"Will you two not start, please!" Jamie finally looks over at them. Sam and John both look at her and sigh.

"I said we'd look. All right? I'll check under every stone." John finally says. He pauses. "Where's the Colt?"

"Your son is dying, and you're worried about the Colt?" Sam's eyes are ablaze, Jamie puts her hand on her brother's chest.

"We're hunting this demon, and maybe it's hunting us too. That gun may be our only card."

Jamie sighs in annoyance, looking from her father to her brother with irritated eyes. "It's in the trunk. They dragged the car to a yard off of I-83." She says, pushing her brother back a step in an effort avoid an all out fight.

"All right. You've gotta clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what's inside." John tells them.

Jamie and Sam nod. "We already called Bobby. He's like an hour out, he's gonna tow the Impala back to his place."

"All right. Sam, you go meet up with Bobby. You get that Colt, and you bring it back to me. And you watch out for hospital security. Jamie, you stay with Dean." Jamie nods, she moves towards the door.

"I think I've got it covered." Sam tells John. He gets up to leave; John stops him, picking up a sheet of paper.

"Hey. Here. I made a list of things I need, have Bobby pick them up for me."

Sam looks at the list and reads from it. "Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?"

Jamie stops at the door. She looks back at John.

"Protection." John answers. He looks at Jamie. Jamie swallows and turns away, going back towards Dean's room.

"Protection my ass." Jamie mutters.

"Hey, Dad? You know, the demon, he said he had plans for me, and children like me. And he called Jamie the one who got away. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?"

"No, I don't." Sam leaves, shutting the door to reveal Dean, who has been leaning behind it.

"Well, you sure know something." Dean says. Jamie is standing the hallway. She leans against the doorframe to Dean's room and puts her fist in her mouth. Dean walks over and tries to put his hand on her shoulder. Afterall awhile John, in a wheelchair, rolls into Dean's room and sits near his bed. Jamie moves to sit on the edge of the bed. Dean stands nearby. "Come on, Dad. You've gotta help me. I've gotta get better, I've gotta get back in there. I mean, you haven't called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything?" He starts walking around the bed. "I've done everything you've ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had. And you're just going to sit there and you're going to watch me die? I mean, what the hell kind of father are you?" Jamie looks in Dean's direction for a moment. Dean looks at her. "Jamie?" He pauses, hearing something. "What is that?" He goes into the hallway and a spirit whooshes past him. He jumps back. In the room Jamie shivers. John looks at her. "I take it you saw that." Dean says to Jamie.

Jamie gets up. "I'll be right back, Dad." She puts her hand on her father's shoulder and goes out into the hall where Dean is. Dean stalks the spirit down the hallways. He sees it go into a back hallway where a woman is lying on the floor, choking.

"Help! Help!" She cries. Jamie and Dean both gasp.

"Hey! I need some help in here!" They yell at the same time. Dean looks at Jamie, and Jamie looks at Dean. Jamie frowns.

"I can't... breathe!" She pants loudly, trying desperately to breathe, then goes silent. Jamie rushes over to her and tries to do something. Dean is leaning over her, looking on helplessly.

"She's dead." Jamie says quietly. She moves out of the room as a doctor and some nurses rush in. Dean follows her. "What the hell just happened?" She mutters to herself. She looks over and sees Sam coming back down the hall.

Sam stalks into John's room with a duffel bag; Jamie follows him. Dean meets them at the door and starts trying to talk to them.

"Jamie I know you heard me earlier! Sammy, tell me one of you can friggin' hear me, man, there's something in the hospital. Now, you've got to bring me back and we've got to hunt this thing."

"You're quiet, Sam." John says. Jamie looks over at her brother. Sam turns, fuming, and hurls the bag onto the bed with a crash.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Find out what?" Jamie automatically asks.

"What are you talking about?"

"That stuff from Bobby, you don't use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you? Having some stupid macho showdown?" Jamie quickly moves between Sam and John, putting her hands up.

"I have a plan, Sam"

"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying, and you have a plan! You know what, you care more about killing this demon than you do saving your own son!"

"Sam.." Jamie puts her hand against Sam's chest.

Dean is watching this all play out. He moves over to Jamie's side. "No, no, no, guys, don't do this!"

"No, no, no guys, don't do this!" Jamie says at almost the same time.

"Do not tell me how I feel! I am doing this for Dean." John yells.

"How? How is revenge going to help him? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself, it's the same selfish obsession!"

"Come on guys…" Dean starts to say. "Don't do this." He and Jamie say at the same time.

"Stay out of this, Jamie!" John tells her. He looks at Sam. "You know, it's funny, I thought it was your obsession too! This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of this hunt. Now if you'd killed that damn thing when you had the chance, none of this would have happened."

"It was possessing you, Dad, I would have killed you too." Sam yells back.

"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now." John retaliates. That statement cuts all three Winchester siblings deeply.

"Shut up, both of you!" Dean and Jamie tell them. Jamie is holding Sam back.

"Go to hell." Sam yells.

"I should have never taken you along in the first place. I knew it was a mistake, I knew I was wrong-"

Jamie starts breathing heavily. Dean is beyond pissed off. "I said SHUT UP!" He yells and Jamie yells it at the same time. Dean smacks a glass of water off the table and it goes flying, crashing to the floor. There's a pause. Jamie, Sam and John look at each other, confused, Dean looks stunned.

"That wasn't me." Jamie looks directly at Dean.

"Dude, Jamie, I full-on Swayze'd that mother." He tells her. And suddenly he crumples in pain, flickering. Nurses and doctors start running by in the hallway. "What is it?"

"Dean!" Jamie rushes out of the room.

John looks at Sam. "Something's going on out there." He jerks his head indicating "Go find out" to Sam.

Monitors are beeping, a doctor and some nurses are surrounding Dean, resuscitating him. "All clear."

Sam is huddling in the doorway, tears in his eyes, he's holding unto Jamie whose crying into Sam's chest. "No."

"Still no pulse."

"Okay, let's go again, 360."

"Charging."  
Dean comes slowly behind Sam and Jamie. He sees a ghostly figure floating over the body lying in the bed.

"You get the hell away from me." He runs to the bed and faces the thing down, yelling. "I said get back!"

Jamie stops crying for a moment. She looks towards the bed. Sam blinks, looks confused, as if he's heard something.

Dean grabs for the spirit; he latches on momentarily before it hurls him back and then soars out of the room. The monitors slow, quiet.

"We have a pulse. We're back into sinus rhythm."

Dean runs into the hallway, looking for the spirit; it's vanished. "Oh my god. I'm gonna kill him." Jamie says, looking at Sam. Sam sighs in relief and pulls Jamie into the hallway, watching from there. Dean comes back, stands by them.

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not going anywhere. I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it." Sam looks over to where Dean was, confused. Jamie looks up at him and then to wear he's looking.

Dean wanders the halls. He hears a girl yelling. "Can't you see me? Why won't you look at me?"

"Now what?" Dean walks over to her.

"Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!"

"Can you see me?" Dean asks curiously.

"Yeah."

"All right, just, uh, calm down. What's your name?"

"Tessa."

"Okay, good, Tessa, I'm Dean."

"What's happening to me? Am - am I dead?"

"That sort of depends."

Jamie walks over to them. "Dean?" She asks hesitatingly. "Dean are you here?"

"Jamie? Can you hear me?" Dean looks at her.

"Whose she?" Tessa asks.

"My sister-"

"Jamie." Jamie answers, looking around.

"She can hear us?" Tessa looks at Dean.

"Dean, is someone with you?"

"Tessa, show me where your room is. Jamie, follow my voice. Come on." Dean instructs. They walk down the hall stand outside a room, watching what is apparently Tessa's body, hooked up to tubes and machines. A woman sits by the bed, holding her hand. Jamie is talking to her.

"I don't understand. I just came in for an appendectomy."

"Well, I hate to bear bad news, but I think there were some complications." Dean tells her.

"It's just a dream, that's all. It's just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream."

"Tessa. It's not a dream."

"Then what else could it be?"

"An out of body experience." Jamie says, walking out of the room.

"What are you two, into that new agey stuff?

"You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It's actually a very old idea. Got a lot of different names: Bilocation, crisis apparition, fetches... I think it's happening to us. And if it is, it means that we're spirits of people close to death." Dean explains to her.

"So we're going to die?" Tessa asks.

"No. Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better, we can snap right back in there and wake up." Dean says to her. Jamie looks in his direction. There's fresh tears in her eyes. Dean tries to reach out to her and his hand goes through her. Jamie shivers. Dean frowns and they start walking down the hallway. After awhile Dean turns to Tessa. "I gotta say, I'm impressed."

"With what?"

"With you. Most people in your spot would be jello right now, but uh, you're taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me."

"Don't get me wrong. I was pretty freaked at first. But now, I don't know. Maybe I'm dealing."

"So you're okay with dying?"

"No, of course not. I just think, whatever's gonna happen's gonna happen. It's out of my control, it's fate."

"Fate's crap." Jamie says from behind them. "Dean I can hear you better, by the way. I just wish I could see you."

"Well, you're right behind me, Jace. Anyway, she's right that's crap. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what."

Suddenly there's a PA announcement. "Room 237, code blue. Dr. Kripke to room 237, code blue." Dean starts looking around.

"Where are you going?" Tess asks.

"Going?" Jamie echos.

"Just wait here. Jamie, come on." Dean runs down the hallway to another room in crisis. Jamie runs after him. "This way!" The same spirit is hovering over a little girl, who is being resuscitated. It reaches a hand into her face. "Get away from her!" He lunges at the spirit, which vanishes. The nurses stop resuscitation.

"All right, let's call it."

"Time of death, five eleven p.m."

"At least she's not suffering anymore."

Dean looks stunned. Jamie looks at him. "Dean, what's going on?" She whispers.

"I think…I think I just saw the reaper."

"Death?" Jamie asks, as she and Dean walk back to his room. Dean frowns as they walk inside. Sam enters the room quietly, clutching a brown paper bag in his arms. "Hey Sam."

"Hey Jamie."

"Can you hear Dean yet?"

"I can feel him, I think. I got something to help."

"Okay. He's here, you two should talk. I'm gonna go check on Dad." Jamie glances back around the room and then walks across the hall.

"Alright. Hi Dean. Don't make fun of me for this, but um, well, there's one way we can talk."Sam pulls out a box labeled "Mystical Talking Board". Dean is now behind him, arms folded.

Dean rolls his eyes. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Sam circles around the bed and sits cross legged on the floor. He opens the box and pulls out the board.

"I guess you can hear me, right?"

"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party." Dean sits opposite Sam in front of the board. "All right, Sam. This isn't going to work. We need Jamie." Sam has his hands poised on the pointer. Dean places his fingers on it and slowly, concentrating. He slides it to "YES" on the board. Sam gasps.

"I'll be damned."

Sam laughs in relief. "It's good to hear from you, man. It hasn't been the same without you, Dean."

"Damn straight."

Dean places his fingers on the pointer again and starts sliding it.

"Dean, what? H? U? Hunt? Hunting? What, are you hunting?"

The pointer slides back to "YES"

"It's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do, do you know what it is?"

"One question at a time, dude."

"What is it?"

The pointer slides again during the following, to R, E, A, P.

"I don't think it's killing people. I think it's taking them. You know, when their time's just up."

"A reaper. Dean. Is it after you?" The pointer slides to YES. "If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it."

"Yeah, you can't kill death."

"Man, you're, um…"

"I'm screwed, Sam."

"No. No, no, no, um, there's gotta be a way." Sam stands, pacing. "There's gotta be a way. Dad'll know what to do." He goes into John's room. The bed is empty. Jamie is sitting on it with John's journal. "Where's dad?"

"I don't know. But I do know Dean is in serious trouble if we don't find a way to help him." Jamie gets up and she and Sam go back into Dean's room with the journal.

"Hey. So Dad wasn't in his room." Sam sits down on the edge of Dean's bed. Jamie stands beside him.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." Jamie answers. Sam looks at her. "Ignore me." She tells him.

"Anyway, we got Dad's journal." Sam flips open the journal and leafs through it. Jamie stares at Dean's unconscious form. Dean comes to stand next to Jamie.

"Thanks for not giving up on me, guys."

"You're welcome." Jamie tells him. Sam turns to a page that says "Reapers", Dean leans over and reads something. His eyes go wide.

"Son of a bitch." He leaves, stalking down the hallway.

"Dean?" Jamie calls after him.

"What happened? Did he leave?" Sam looks at her.

Dean walks into an empty room. Tessa is sitting on the edge of the bed. She's dressed differently. "Hi, Dean."

"You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn't. Basically they can make themselves appear however they want. Like, say, a, a pretty girl. You're much prettier than the last reaper I met."

"I was wondering when you would figure it out."

"I should have known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid back for a dead chick. But the mother, and the body, I'm still trying to figure that one out. My little sister had a whole conversation with something that didn't exist."

"It's my sandbox, I can make you see whatever I want. Your sister is a powerful psychic, so I manipulated her to help convince you."

"What, is this like a turn-on for you? What, toying with me?"

"You didn't give me much choice. You saw my true form and you flipped out. Kinda hurts a girl's feelings. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me."

"Okay, fine. We're talking. What the hell do you want to talk about?"

"How death is nothing to fear." she touches his cheek. "It's your time to go, Dean. And you're living on borrowed time already."

"Dean?" Jamie stands in the doorway to the room.

Sam is standing on the window side of Dean's bed, hands in his pockets. Dean is not there. "Dean, I know Jamie said you weren't here, but…" He looks around. "I couldn't find anything in the book. I don't know how to help you. But I'll keep trying, all right? As long as you keep fighting. I mean, come on you can't, you can't leave me here alone with dad, we'll kill each other, you know that, even if Jamie sticks around." He pauses. "Dean, you've got to hold on. You can't go, man, not now. We were just starting to be a family again. Can you hear me?"

Dean is staring out a dark window. Jamie is standing beside him. "Look, I'm sure you've heard this before, but... you've gotta make an exception, you've gotta cut me a break."

"Stage three: bargaining."

"I'm serious. My family's in danger. See, we're kind of in the middle of this, um, war, and they need me."

"The fight's over."

"The fight is never over." Jamie says, looking around blindly.

"No, it isn't." He tries to put his hand on Jamie's back.

"It is for you. Dean. You're not the first soldier I've plucked from the field. They all feel the same. They can't leave. Victory hangs in the balance. But they're wrong. The battle goes on without them."

"My brother. My sister. They could die without me."

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Nothing you can do about it. It's an honorable death. A warrior's death."

"I think I'll pass on the seventy two virgins, thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway."

"That's funny. You're very cute."

"There's no such thing as an honorable death. My corpse is going to rot in the ground and my family is going to die! No. I'm not going with yo, I don't care what you do."

"Well, like you said. There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Dean…" She looks over at him, even though she can't see him.

"What are you saying?"

"Dean. How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go and they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt."

"Oh my god." Jamie whispers. "Dean…I don't want you to go, but you can't…please that would kill Sam and I."

Dean looks at her and then goes to sit on the bed, Tessa stands behind him. She strokes his hair tenderly. "It's time to put the pain behind you."

"And go where?"

"Sorry. I can't give away the big punchline. Moment of truth. No changing your mind later. So what's it going to be?"

Jamie walks over and kneels down on the floor. She closes her eyes and puts her hand up. Dean looks at her and he puts his hand against hers. For a moment they can feel each other. Just then the lights start flickering, a familiar buzzing starts. Jamie pulls away. "Dean what's going on?"

"What are you doing that for?" Dean yells at Tessa.

"I'm not doing it." They all turn to a vent in the floor and see black demon ichor pour out of it.

"What the hell?"

"Dean!" Jamie can't see it.

"You can't do this! Get away!"

"Jamie, run. Go back to my room!" Dean pushes his sister away. Jamie moves away and runs down the hall. "What's happening?"

Tessa screams as the demon flows into her mouth. She turns, eyes glowing yellow. "Today's your lucky day, kid." She places a hand on Dean's forehead; he convulses.

Sam is still sitting on the bed as Dean gasps, waking suddenly and choking on the tube in his throat. Jamie runs in, breathing heavily. Her eyes widen when she sees Dean start to wake up.

"Dean?" Sam asks. He yells into the hallway. "Help! I need help!" Jamie hurries over and grabs Dean's hand.

Not long afterward, Dean is sitting up in bed with the tube out. Jamie is sitting in the bed with him, and Sam in sitting on the edge. "I can't explain it. The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you." The doctor says to them.

"Thanks, doc." Dean nods to him. The doctor leaves; Dean turns to Jamie and Sam. "So you said a Reaper was after me?"

"Yeah." Jamie says. Sam nods.

"How'd I ditch it?"

"I don't know. Something weird happened." Jamie tells him, snuggling into his shoulder.

"Yeah, you got me. Dean, you really don't remember anything?" Sam asks.

"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Guys, something's wrong." Jamie looks up. She looks from Dean to Sam. There's a knock at the door; John hovers in the doorway.

"How you feeling, dude?" He asks.

"Fine, I guess. I'm alive."

"That's what matters."

"Yeah it is." Jamie agrees, holding unto her big brother.

Sam however gets angry, remembering John was gone. "Where were you last night?"

"I had some things to take care of."

"Well, that's specific."

"Sammy…"Jamie says softly, looking at him.

"Come on, Sam." Dean tells him.

"Did you go after the demon?"

"No."

Dean and Jamie look at each other and sigh, shaking his heads.

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?" Sam tells John, accusingly.

John stops and there is a pleading in his voice. "Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

Sam is taken aback. Jamie and Dean are as well. "Dad, are you all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Sam leaves, still frowning. John looks after him sadly. He walks over to the bed where Jamie is laying next to Dean. He reaches out and strokes her hair.

"Why'd you dye your hair?" He asks softly.

"What?" Jamie asks, looking a little confused.

"I liked it the color it was."

"It wasn't Mom's color, if that's what you're getting at." Jamie says softly, looking up at him.

"Jamie…I know…I know I did the wrong thing abandoning you like I did. But I was just so scared. Every day you'd look more and more like your mom, and I couldn't take it anymore. This life…you looking just like Mary. I just wanted to protect you." He reaches out and puts his fingers on the silver hunter's charm bracelet Jamie is wearing. "I know now that your brother here could have protected you. I robbed him and Sam of their sister."

"Dad, like you said. You were just trying to protect me. But you have to understand, this is who I am." John reaches out and hugs her. John pulls back and looks at Dean.

"What is it?" Dean asks.

"You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt, and after what I'd seen, I'd be, I'd be wrecked. And you, you'd come up to me and you, you'd put your hand on my shoulder and you'd look me in the eye and you'd... You'd say "It's okay, Dad" He pauses. "Dean, I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You shouldn't have had to say that to me, I should have been saying that to you. You know, I put, I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Jamie, of Sammy, and you took care of me. You did that, and you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you." John tells him.

Dean grabs Jamie's hand, holding her close to him. "This really you talking?" he asks John.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's really me."

"Daddy…what's wrong?" Jamie finally asks.

"Why are you saying this stuff?" Dean echos.

John puts a hand on Dean's shoulder. "I want you to watch out for Sammy, okay. And Jamie. Both of you watch out for each other."

"Daddy?" Jamie's eyes get cloudy.

"Yeah, dad, you know I will. You're scaring me." Dean tells him.

"Don't be scared, Dean."

"Dad." Jamie starts to say.

John leans over and whispers something into Dean's ear. Dean pulls back in shock, processing. Jamie looks at John and starts to cry. John leaves, and Dean stares after him. "Jamie what's going on?" He looks down at his sister.

"Oh my god."

Sam walks back to the room carrying a cup of coffee. He looks into a room and sees John on the floor. "Dad?" Dropping the cup, Sam runs to John's side, kneeling over him and screaming for help. Jamie almost falls out of the bed, Dean follows after her.

Once again, a crowd of doctors and nurses attempt resuscitation, this time on John. Dean and Sam hover in the doorway, and a nurse tries to push them out.

"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad! " Dean pleads. "Come on."

"Okay, stop compressions."

"Come on, come on." Dean begs.

"Dad no, Dad." Jamie closes her eyes, gasping and sobbing. She's held fast between Dean and Sam. "Oh God." She cries out.

"Still no pulse."

"Okay, that's it everybody. I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41 am."


	6. 202 Everybody Loves a Clown

The world seems to move in slow motion. Their father's body is in the bed of Jamie's pick-up truck, wrapped in a sheet and covered with a tarp. John's truck is God knows where and it's long forgotten by the siblings. They're on the road, driving out into the woods, looking for a proper place to build a pyre. Dean lets her drive; he sits twisted at an odd angle, staring into the back window. Sam is sitting between them, staring at his hands. They don't speak. The radio isn't on. Dean keeps staring out the back window. Sam doesn't stop looking at his hands. Jamie's eyes never leave the road. A hour goes by. Dean finally moves. He gestures for Jamie to leave the main road. They drive down an old dirt path that leads them deep into the woods. The truck protests for a moment, when Jamie drives over a mess of fallen branches. Dean winces slightly. Sam says nothing.

Jamie finally brings the truck to a stop. The keys turn out of the ignition. She shoves them into her jeans as she pries open the door and jumps out. Sam climbs over the gear shift and gets out beside her. Dean just sits there for a moment. Jamie and Sam stare at him, making no movement until he finally shoves the other door open and gets out.

They move slowly around the truck, at first. Dean finally can't take it anymore and lets the back down on the truck, pulling off the tarp and exposing the body. Jamie and Sam stare and then look away. They both need a moment, and then Jamie jumps up and starts throwing bundles of kindling from the bed of the truck unto the ground. Sam helps Dean take the body out. They set it on the ground. There's a sheet of plywood at the bottom of the bed. Jamie grabs it and drags it over to the wood. Dean helps her arrange the bundles around the plywood. Sam opens the door of the truck and takes out a canister of salt and a container of lighter fluid. He sets the lighter fluid on the ground, but the salt he hands over to Jamie and then helps Dean move the body once again. They place it on the sheet of plywood. Jamie opens the canister and pours the salt over the body. Sam picks up the lighter fluid and opens the container. He douses the body generously before taking the container back to the truck. Dean takes out a pack of matches from his pocket. He walks over and stands beside Jamie. Sam stands at her other side. Jamie tosses the canister away. Dean strikes a match. He looks at the two of them and then flicks it unto the body. It immediately ignites in flames.

Dean shoves his hands into his pockets. Sam's eyes weld up and he fidgets. Jamie crosses her arms tightly over her chest. Tears stream down her face. They still have not said anything. After awhile Jamie wipes her eyes. She moves away from her brothers and takes out rosary beads. Sam turns to look at Dean. Dean continues to stare into the flames. They hear Jamie muttering in Latin: "ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc et in ora mortis nostre…" Sam looks to Dean.

"Before he.. before, did he say anything to you? About anything?" Sam asks.

Dean does look at him. Doesn't want to remember, doesn't want to know why his father told him what he told him. "No. Nothing." He says. Sam doesn't ask again.

They arrive at Bobby's just before dawn. John's things are in a box, the last thing left in the bed of Jamie's truck. She takes it out before following her brothers into the house. Bobby's waiting for them with a bottle of rum, which Dean takes before Sam or Jamie can see it. Sam pours himself a cup of cold coffee instead. Jamie sets the box on the table, she pulls out John's journal, his wallet, and some old clothes. Her eyes suddenly widen and she starts digging through the box. "Jamie? Girl, what's gotten into you?" Bobby asks, looking over at her.

"Dean." Dean looks up from his rum bottle, turning his attention to his sister. "Dean, where's the Colt?" Her voice is hoarse, trapped in her throat. Her blue eyes are wild with frustration, uncertainty…fear. "Where is the Colt?" She says again.

"What?" Sam looks at his twin and then moves over to her side. He searches the box and his eyes scan over the contents. "This is the wrong box. Did you check Dad's duffle?"

"Sam. This is everything." A cold chill runs down Jamie's spine and she shivers.

"Dean, where is the Colt!" Sam looks at Dean, who has yet to make any response.

"I don't know." He finally says.

"You don't know?" Bobby asks.

"I said I don't know!" Dean storms past his siblings and heads for the door. Jamie and Sam stand there looking at each other.

It's a few hours later when Dean stumbles into Bobby's spare bedroom. He's drunk as hell and his siblings can smell him coming. They're both dressed in pajamas and they rush barefoot over to the door to keep their brother from falling. Sam drags him over the bed he just vacated and awkwardly holds him up. Dean is muttering a whole bunch of things, but they're all incoherent. Sam pulls his boots off and Jamie strips off Dean's favorite leather jacket before they tuck him under the thin blanket. Dean starts snoring as soon as Sam lets his head touch the pillow. Jamie pulls Sam from Dean's bed and they move unto the bed Jamie had been trying to sleep in. She slides into the covers and moves over against the wall. Sam takes a chair but Jamie's voice breaks the silence. "Sam." She says with a tired yawn. "Get in." She tells him pointedly even though she's exhausted. He looks at the chair again and then slides under the blanket with his sister. She curls up beside him and closes her eyes. He wishes he could fall asleep as easily.

Dean's still passed out when Jamie opens her eyes again. Sam's sitting in bed beside her, their father's journal open on his lap. He trying to concentrate on the words and she knows he hasn't slept yet. She's about to say something to him when someone's cell phone goes off few feet away. Sam swings his long legs out of the bed and goes over, checking their bags until the finds the buzzing phone. Jamie moves over in the bed, staring at him as he answers. It's her phone. He pauses for a moment and then brings it to her. "Jace?" He asks with a slight smirk on his lips.

She looks at him and then speaks into the receiver. "Yeah?"

"Jace. Jace, it's Andrew. We got trouble back home. Dan's been possessed." There's urgency in her friend's voice. Urgency, and fear. She can almost smell it. He's in over his head and he knows it.  
"What?" She heard him but she says it out of habit, though not disbelief. "Okay. Okay…I…what are you doing?"

"We've got him trapped, tied down and stuff, but I can't pull it out."

"What do you mean you can't pull it out?" Her eyes are wide and there's dread rising in the pit of her stomach. Sam looks over at her in concern.

"I tried, Jamie, I tried."

"Did you use my book?"

"I can't find it. Jamie, he killed the priest."

"Oh God. Alright, I'm on my way. Douse yourself and Dan in holy water until I get there. And don't try anything else. Just keep Dan tied up." She hung up and the phone and was met with her brother's eyes. "Demon possession, Sam. An old friend of mine…one of the guys I've been hunting with. I've got to go."

"Jamie you can't go, at least not alone. What if it's thee demon?"

"It's not."

"How do you know? How do you know this isn't a trap?"

"Because it isn't. Sam…this is my…my boyfriend's best friend, okay? They are more than just hunters to me, okay? They're…They're…"

"Family?" She's taken aback by the accusation in her twin's voice. "Jamie, Dad just died."

"Which is why you can't come with me. I have to do this by myself, I won't drag you into anything else. Besides, you have to stay here and keep Dean sane." She's stuffing things into her back pack. Sam bites back a smirk and then goes over to her.

"You call us the second things get bad. Dean will kill me if anything happens to you."

"I'll be fine, Sam. I'll be back in four days."

"If you aren't back in three I'm driving down to get you." She turns around and they stare at each other for a minute. Sam reaches out and she falls into his arms. They hug each other tightly and then pull away. She leaves the room in a hurry and he stands there wishing he hadn't let her go.

It's late, very late, when she pulls into the driveway of an old shack out in the middle of nonwhere in Ohio. She recognizes her boyfriend's truck as she pulls in beside it. There's another car parked a few feet away. The shack is eerily silent. Taking her handgun out of her jeans she climbs out of the truck and walks up to the door. She knocks once and then kicks the door in. Three guns cock and point at her. She looks around. "It's just me."

Andrew, her boyfriend, is tall and well toned. He has blonde hair that stands on end, broad shoulders, and the stoic but arrogant mannerism of a bred hunter. He's wearing a iron-clad crucifix around his neck, and his black t-shirt is half torn and damp. Beside him is his brother, Aaron. Aaron is the older brother, dark hair and tall, but slimmer and slighter. But his eyes are harder and his mannerism is darker. There's blood stains on the shoulder of his jacket. Beside Aaron is an older hunter, early sixties, eyes sharp and jaw set. He has Andrew's face and Aaron's hair. "How can we be sure?" He asks, not taking his eyes off her.

"Dad, come on, it's Jace." Andrew says, looking over at the old man. He lowers his gun and walks over to her.

"AJ, we have to be careful." Aaron says. He lowers his gun but he tosses a bottle towards Jamie. "Drink." He demands of her. Jamie rolls her eyes and takes a gulp from the bottle. She starts coughing and spits. Aaron and his father raise their guns back at her.

"Salt? Really? Plain holy water would have been fine." She tells them, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. Andrew sighs in relief and wraps his arms around her. "Hey Aaron. Hey Jefferson." She says with her arms around Andrew.

"Sorry about that, Jace." Jefferson tells her.

"It's fine. Dad would have done the same thing." Andrew wraps his arms around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"How is your father? Rumor has it you had a run in with the yellow eye." Jamie looks away. "Jace?" When Jamie looks back up at him her eyes are mourning. "Oh god, I'm sorry kid. Your brothers, though, they're alright?" She nods.

"Damnit. John dead. And right when we need him the most." Aaron sighs deeply and runs his hand through his hair.

"We still have Jace, and with Sammy hunting with Deuce…I'd say we got real lucky." Andrew tells his brother, holding his girlfriend in an even tighter grip.

"Jace and Deuce are great hunters, and I'm sure Sam is too, but the three of them cannot replace John's knowledge and abilities."

"Alright boys, we can talk about this later. Jamie, come on, Dan's in here." Jefferson puts a stop to their fight before it even begins and Andrew lets go of Jamie so she can follow Jefferson into another room. Dan is unconscious, tied up in the middle of the floor, a key Solomon painted on the ceiling above him. He's pale, about Andrew's height, and with long dark hair and tense muscles. "Singer set me up with the devil's trap." Jefferson tells her.

"Good. Aaron, I left my book in the truck, will you go get it for me?" Aaron nods and leaves the room.

"The priest already tried an exorcism, but it was too strong, it broke free and killed him."

"It broke free of the devil's trap?" Jamie turns and looks toward her boyfriend.

"No, we had him tied up. He killed the priest and almost killed me, but Aaron broke a chair over his head and he hasn't woken up yet."Just then Dan opened his eyes and stared up at them. "Scratch that." Andrew raised his gun.

"It's alright, the devil's trap keeps him from using his powers." Jamie grabs her boyfriend's hands and pushed them down. Dan looked up at the ceiling and then turned black eyes to Jamie. "Who are you?"

"It's not as important as who you are, Jamie Winchester." The demon inside Dan laughed. "So this is the one who got away."

"What do you mean the one who got away?" Jamie asks, remembering the yellow eyed demon had called her the same thing.

"You don't know? You and your brother were chosen, just like hundreds of other children. But Mommy had a big mouth, so I heard, and Daddy came in just in time to keep his little girl from becoming extra special. But then again, you are extra special, aren't you? Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Jamie asks, looking at the demon as she walks over and grabs a bucket off the floor.

"Because you're _his_ bitch." The demon glances upward as he speaks to her, and Jamie throws the bucket of holy water all over him. He screams in pain as smoke rises up from his body.

"I'm nobody's bitch." Aaron comes back holding Jamie's journal. She takes it and opens it up to the exorcism ritual. "Adjuro ergo te, omnis immundíssime spíritus, omne phantásma, omnis incúrsio sátanæ, in nómini Jesu Christi Nazaréni, qui post lavácrum Joánnis in desértum ductus est, et te in tuis sédibus vicit: ut, quem ille de limo terræ ad honórem gloriæ suæ formávit, tu désinas impugnáre: et in hómine miserábili non humánam fragilitátem, sed imáginem omnipoténtis Dei contremíscas. Cede ergo Deo, qui te , et malítiam tuam in Pharaóne, et in exércitu ejus per Moysen servum suum in abýssum demérsit. Cede Deo, qui te per fidelíssimum servum suum David de rege Saule spirituálibus cánticis pulsus fugávit."

The demon only chuckled craning his neck towards her and smirking. "You really think that's going to pull me out of poor, poor Danny boy?" Dan laughed and then glanced upward. The room began to shake.

"Jamie, what's going on?" Andrew yelled.

Jamie shook her head, looking down at her book. "Cede Deo, qui te in Juda Iscarióti proditóre damnávit. Ille enim te divínis verbéribus tangit, in cujus conspéctu cum tuis legiónibus tremens et clamans dixísti: Quid nobis es tibi, Jesu, Fili Dei altíssii? Venísti huc ante tempus torquére nos? Ille te perpétuis flammis urget, qui in fine témporum dictúrus est impiés: Discédite a me, maledícti, in ignem ætérnum, qui parátus est diábolo et ángelis ejus. Tibi enim, ímpie, et ángelis tuis vermes erunt, qui nunquam moriéntur. Tibi, et ángelis tuis inextinguíbile præparátur incendium: quia tu es prínceps maledícte homicídii, tu auctor incéstus, tu sacrilegórum caput, tu actiónum pessimárum magister, tu hæreticórum doctor, tu tortius obsc£nitatis invéntor. Exi ergo, ímpie, exi, sceleráte, exi cum omni fallácia tua: quia hóminem templum suum esse vóluit Deus. Sed quid diútius moráris hic?" As she read the shaking continued to get worse. Suddenly the ceiling began to crack. A chunk of the wood above Jamie's head broke apart, breaking the devil's trap.

"Jamie!" Andrew drove for her, knocking her out of the way. They fell unto the floor beside each other. Jamie looked at him, trembling and breathing deeply.

"Damnit!" Aaron cursed grabbing his gun. Jefferson raises his own. They point them at Dan.

"No wait!" Andrew told his brother. But the demon had other plans. He turned his head and sent Aaron and Jefferson crashing into the wall. "Aaron!" Andrew got up and Dan sent him flying across the room. His eyes then locked on Jamie. She felt her journal in her hand, but dared not take her eyes off Dan. He smirked, pulling his arms free of the ropes.

"Now you die, Jamie." Dan hissed. He raised his hand, but as he did she raised hers as well. Dan was suddenly throw back into the chair. Jamie raised her other hand, and walked toward Dan. The chair slid across the floor and came to a stop against the wall.

"No. Now you go back to hell. Da honórem Deo Patri omnipoténti, cui omne genu fléctitur. Da locum Dómino Jesu Christo, qui pro hómine sánguinem suum sacratíssimum fudit. Da locum Spíritui Sancto, qui per beátum Apóstolum suum Petrum te maniféste stravit in Simóne mago; qui falláciam tuam in Ananía et Saphíra condemnávit; qui te in Heróde rege honórem Deo non dante percússit; qui te in mago Elyma per Apóstolum suum Paulum cæcitátis calígine pérdidit, et per eúndem de Pythonissa verbo ímperans exíre præcépit. Discéde ergo nunc, discéde , sedúctor. Tibi erémus sedes est. Tibi habitátio serpens est: humiliáre, et prostérnere. Jam non est différendi tempus. Ecce enim dominátor Dóminus próximat cito, et ignis ardébit ante ipsum, et præcédet, et inflammábit in circúitu inimícus ejus. Si enim hómines fefélleris. Deum non póteris irridére. Ille te ejécit, cujus óculis nihil occúltum est. Ille te expéllit, cujus virtúti univérsa subjécta sunt. Ille te exclúdit, qui tibi, et ángels tuis præparávit ætérnam gehénnam; de cujos ore exíbit gládius acútus: Qui ventúrus est judicáre vivos et mórtuos et sæculum per ignem." As she finished the ritual Dan screamed and convulsed, but he was held fast by Jamie's telekinetic power. Suddenly, black clouds rose from Dan's mouth and escaped through the hole in the ceiling. Dan slumped in the chair. Aaron and Andrew get up and rush over to them.

"Jamie, are you okay?" Andrew put his hands on her shoulders. She blinked and looked down at her hands. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know. It's…it's never been like this before." She stared at her hands for a few more moments.

"Dad! Dad wake up." Aaron yells in the background. Jamie and Andrew look at each other and then rush over to Aaron.

"Dad?" Andrew drops down beside his brother. Jefferson is unconscious and bleeding from his head. He tears off the flannel shirt he's wearing and presses it against his skull.

"I'm not getting a pulse." Aaron slams his fist into Jefferson's chest, trying to get resuscitate his father. Andrew leans in and blows into the old man's mouth, trying to force air into his lungs.

"Aaron, stop. AJ." Jamie holds her boyfriend's shirt out to them. There's brain matter on it. "Aaron, his skull... He's gone. He's gone." A tear falls down her cheek. Aaron stares at her in horror and disbelief. Andrew puts his fist into his mouth.

"Christ. Christ, why? Caleb, Pastor Jim, John, and now Dad." Aaron gets up and throws his gun against the wall. "God. We're not ready for this."

"Whether we're ready for it or not, we have no choice."

Dan groans and starts to come around. He yells in pain, and Jamie gets up and rushes over to him. "Easy. Easy."

"Oh…jesus, what happen?" He asks, opening his eyes and then closing them in pain. "Jace?"

"You were possessed. And I kinda…used my ability on you."

"Yeah, is that why my back hurts like a bitch?"

"Yeah." She helps him out of the chair. "Dan…um…do, do you remember anything?"

"Some things. Why?" He looks across the room and sees AJ and Aaron bent over Jefferson. His eyes widen and his jaw goes slack. "Jace…Did I…oh god."

"It wasn't you, Dan. It wasn't you. Come on, lets get you into bed so I can check your back."

A while later Jamie comes out of the small bedroom. She looks run down and tired. She's still wearing the same pair of beat up jeans, but she's changed her shirt for a dark green tank top and a green and white flannel shirt. Andrew and Aaron aren't in the room and the body is gone. She can smell smoke though, and knows what they're doing. Her jacket is hanging on the wall, and she picks it up and goes out the back door.

The pyre is already lit. Andrew and Aaron are standing in front of it. It's like de ja vu to Jamie. She sees the empty salt canister and the gas can at their feet. But unlike when she and her brothers burned their own father, she cannot walk over and comfort these brothers. Tears fall from her eyes as she leans against the backdoor, watching the smoke and flames rise into the night sky.

After a few minutes Andrew is aware of her presence. He turns and walks over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. There's tear streaks down his face, and she wipes away fresh tears with her thumbs. "How's Dan?" he breaths staring down at her.

"Sore. But he's gonna be alright…physically anyway."

"I don't blame him for this." He tells her, holding her close to his chest. "I don't. I blame these damn demons."

"You should probably tell him that yourself."

"I will. In the morning." He breaths. She nods pulling away from him. "You have to leave again, don't you?"

"In the morning. I have to be with my brothers."

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You stay here with Dan and Aaron. You need to be with them."

"Aaron is going home to Robin. Dan needs to go somewhere by himself for awhile. Come on, I'm sure your brothers could use the company of another hunter for awhile."

"Heh, well I'm sure Bobby could anyway."

Jamie is quiet on the way down to Bobby's. Andrew doesn't make any attempt to start conversation. He isn't in the mood either. Somewhere in Illinois Andrew's hand drops palm up towards Jamie. She puts her hand in his and squeezes. It's a simple gesture that lets them both know they're gonna be okay.

Dean can hear Jamie's truck banging a mile down the road. By the time Andrew pulls it in to Bobby's lot, Dean is coming out of the house looking pissed with both fists clutched. Sam is hot on his heels, looking worried. Jamie barely gets her door open before Dean goes over and drags her out by the collar. "Where in the hell have you been, Jamie?"

"Ow, Dean. I had to work a job."

"You ran off without telling me! I wake up and my little sister has disappeared, and I have no details, and I was frickin worried about you, Jamie. You could have been dead for all I knew! What the hell were you thinking going off by yourself?" Jamie and Dean are both near tears, but Dean is still half choking her by the front of her shirt.

"Dude, calm down a little bit, Dean." Sam tells him, moving closer to them and a putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Come on, you're hurting her."

"Stay out of this, Sam." Dean warns.

"Dude, either you let her go, or I will make you let her go." Andrew moves out from behind the truck, and Dean shifts around to see who just tried to order him around. He lets go of Jamie and punches him straight in the face.

"AJ!" Jamie moves out from Dean and goes to her boyfriend. "Damnit Dean. It's one thing to get mad at me, its another to start throwing punches." She raises Andrew's face in her hands and looks at his bleeding mouth.

"AJ?" Dean asks. His eyes widen in realization. "Like Andrew Jefferson AJ?"

"Jefferson?" Sam asks. "Jamie, you didn't tell me you were dating one of Jefferson's boys."

"Dating?" Dean's jaw is slack for a moment as he looks between the blonde boy and his dark haired sister. "This is your boyfriend?" He points at Andrew. "You're dating a hunter?" He turns to Andrew. "You're dating my sister?"

"Jace didn't tell ya, Deuce?"

"Deuce?" Sam looks at Dean. "Who the hell calls you Deuce?"

"Dad's friends all call him Deuce." Jamie answers. Dean and Andrew are still staring at each other. Finally Dean grins and he and Andrew hug.

"AJ you stupid son of a bitch. I should kill you." Dean says with glee. "How the hell ya been?"

Andrew smiles only lightly and Dean's mood instantly falls when he sees the dried blood on Andrew's shirt and the redness in his eyes. "We got something else in common besides your sister, Deuce."

"What does that mean?" Sam asks. Andrew looks at Jamie, and she looks back up at him before turning to her twin.

"It means Jefferson's dead. The demon we were trying to exorcise got him. Broke the devil's trap."

"How the hell did it break the devil's trap?" Sam's face clouds over in horror.

"I don't know. We'd all be dead if it wasn't for Jace. She stopped it, pulled it out." Andrew puts his arm around her.

"It was strong enough to break the devil's trap, but you still exorcized it?" Dean turns to his sister. "How?"

"I'll show you." Jamie lets go of Andrew and walks out into the middle of lot. "Take out your guns, guys. Put them in front of you." Dean and Sam look at each other and then at Andrew. Andrew takes his out and puts it down at his feet. Dean and Sam follow suit. Jamie takes a deep breath and holds her hands out. As she raises her hands, the guns levitate into the air. Dean and Sam's jaws drop and their eyes widen. Jamie drops her hands and the guns fall to the ground.

"What the hell?" Dean asks, looking at his sister. "How the hell are you able to do that? Sam can't do that."

"Sam and I are different." Jamie answers. "You heard the yellow eyed. I'm the one who got away. There's something about me that isn't the same as him."

"What does that mean?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. I've never been able to do it this easily. I could do it a little bit before."

"The Colt the night Dad was possessed. That's how you got it." Sam says realizing.

"Yeah. But I was bound and I couldn't get it to move until Dad took back control. I broke through something I guess."

A while later Jamie and Sam are sitting in Bobby's living room going over a couple of books. John's journal is open on the floor in front of Jamie. Sam sighs and puts his book away. The box of John's stuff is beside him. He pulls out John's cellphone and starts going through it. "You haven't cracked the code yet?" Jamie asks, not looking up from the book.

"I'm getting to it." Sam tells her. He punches in another set of numbers. "I tried Mom's birthday. Didn't work." Jamie looks up at him. Sam looks at her. "What?"

"You read my mind."

"What?"

"I didn't say anything about Mom's birthday." Sam's eyes widen. He looks at Jamie. She stares back at him. "I can hear you. I can hear you in my head!" A grin spreads across Jamie's face. Sam has an identical smile. Both twins laugh in excitement.

"This is great! Maybe I can use your…telekinesis too. Do you think?"

"Let's try it." Jamie scrambles off the floor and Sam follows her across the room. "Okay. That book." Jamie points to a large book on the desk. It levitates into the air and then back down.

"Okay." Sam takes a deep breath and holds his hand out. Nothing happens.

"Sam…concentrate on me. Concentrate on my thoughts." She walked towards her twin and put her hands on his shoulders. "Remember that night? We moved together, we were connected. You lowered the gun, I pulled the trigger."

"We just have to do that again." Sam stares across the room to the book. Jamie stares at it as well. The book moves into the air. "It's you. Let go." Jamie closes her eyes for a second. When she opens them again the book is still floating. Sam grits his teeth, the book quickly falls to the floor. "Damn."

"No. We were connected, you kept it in the air. It's a start." Andrew walks into the room. "Hey."

"Hey." He's wiping his hands on a rag. "Any luck?"

"No." Sam shakes his head. "How's Dean?"

"Deuce is a little…"

"Yeah. Come on, I'll make you something to eat." Jamie and Andrew go back into the kitchen.

A while later Jamie and Andrew are making out on the table. Sam comes in and clears his throat. Jamie looks up at him. Andrew gets off the table. "Sam." He clears his throat. Jamie puts her shirt back on.

"Uh…Jamie I cracked Dad's cellphone code."

"That's great. Let's go tell Dean."

Dean is underneath his car working on it, only his legs sticking out. It is little more than a rusted frame, but it looks considerably less crunched than last time. Sam, Jamie, and Andrew approach

"Hey Dean." Jamie leans against the Impala.

"How's the car coming along?" Sam asks.

"Slow." Dean answers.

"Yeah. Well the frame looks better." Jamie stands back and looks at it.

"Yeah. Need any help?" Sam bent down beside the car to hear Dean better.

Under the car Dean dropped something heavy and snickered. "What, you under a hood? I'll pass."

Sam sighed, feeling slightly dejected. He and Jamie looked at each other and then Sam glanced back to the car. "Need anything else, then?"

Dean pushes himself out from under the car and stands. He looks at Jamie, and his eyes narrow. She frowns and looks away. Dean looks back at their brother. "Stop it, Sam."

"Stop what?"

Jamie sighs, taking a step forward so that she's standing between them. "Guys."

Dean shakes his head, his lips forming the familiar frown he's been wearing the last couple of days. "Stop asking if I need anything, stop asking if I'm okay. I'm okay. Really. I promise."

Jamie's hands automatically go up, one raising on Dean's chest, the other on Sam's. "Let's not do this. Please." Both brothers sigh, glancing at their sister and then at each other.

"All right, Dean, it's just... We've been at Bobby's for over a week now and you haven't brought up Dad once. "

"Sam." Jamie sighs, waiting for Dean's reaction. Dean's mouth curls into a mocking smirk. Jamie shakes her head and takes a step back. Dean steps closer to Sam.

"You know what? You're right. Come here. I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, and maybe even slow dance."

"Dean…"

Sam is none too happy with his brother's reaction. He takes a step forward, but Jamie reaches out and pushes him back. "Don't patronize me, Dean, Dad is dead. The Colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you're acting like nothing happened."

Dean looks up from the wrench in his hand. "What do you want me to say?"

Sam looks up at him defiantly. "Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long buried underneath this damn car."

"Revenge, huh?"

"Yeah." Sam and Jamie say at the same time.

Dean shakes his head, the smirk back on his face. "Sounds good. You got any leads on where the demon is? Making heads or tails of any of Dad's research? What about you Jamie? Because I sure ain't. But you know, if we do finally find it - oh. No, wait, like you said. The Colt's gone. But I'm sure you've figured out another way to kill it. We've got nothing, guys. Nothing, okay? So you know the only thing I can do? Is I can work on the car." He crouches by the car again, getting back to work.

Sam shakes his head and looks at Jamie. "I can't deal with him like this, Jamie." He hisses.

"Stop." Jamie nudges her twin and then reaches down and pulls out the platform Dean is laying on. Dean looks at her. "Dean we actually do have something, alright?" She looks back at Sam. "Show him the phone, Sam."

Sam pulls out a cell phone. "It's what I came by here to tell you. Both of you, actually. This is one of dad's old phones. Took me a while, but i cracked his voicemail code. Listen to this." Sam hands the cell phone to Dean, who stands and takes it reluctantly.

Ellen's voice comes through the phone. "John, it's Ellen. Again. Look, don't be stubborn, you know I can help you. Call me."

Jamie stops, not expecting to hear Ellen's voice. "Ellen?" She looks past Sam and Dean to Andrew, who has been standing back silently. "AJ…" He walks over to her.

Sam looks up from the phone. "That message is four months old."

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" Dean asks.

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"Well, who's Ellen? Any mention of her in Dad's journal?" Sam glances over at Jamie and Andrew. Jamie is shaking her head.

"No, but Andrew and I know who she is. She's a hunter, she runs a salon called the Roadhouse."

Sam nods. "Yeah, Jamie's right. I ran a trace on her phone number and I got an address."

Andrew shrugs. "Well, let's go." He looks at the Winchester siblings expectantly, especially Dean.

Dean finally nods. He glances at his baby and then to Jamie and Sam. "Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars."

In a beat-up, poorly maintained minivan, Dean, Jamie, Andrew and Sam pull up to the Roadhouse Saloon. Dean is obviously frustrated with the car. "This is humiliating. I feel like a friggin' soccer mom!" Sam snickerers, looking at Jamie and Andrew who shake their heads, trying to hide their smirks. Dean shoots his siblings a dirty look as the four of them get out.

"Sorry Dean. Truck wouldn't fit all four of us." She tells him, handing him his gun. Dean opens his mouth to complain some more but Sam's voice stops him.

"It's the only car Bobby had running."

"Guys. Let's just find Ellen, alright?" Andrew pulls out his shot gun and throws Jamie her leather jacket. They start looking around. "Jo?"

"Hello? Anybody here?" Sam calls.

"Ellen?"

Dean turns to Sam. "Hey. You bring the, uh…"

Sam nods knowlingly. "Of course." He tosses something to Dean, who catches it. They open the door and go inside. The saloon is quiet except for a fly buzzing. A light bulb blows out. They go to the back and see a man passed out on the bar. Sam goes over to him.

"Hey, buddy?" He pauses. "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen." Andrew goes over to him and Sam and puts his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Ash. Ash wake up." He tries to shake the man awake.

Dean smirks. "Yeah."

Jamie sighs, looking around. She takes her handgun out from her jeans. "Where are they?" She and Andrew go back outside. Sam goes into a back room, looking around. Dean goes down the steps, then pauses as he feels the point of a gun touch his back.

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle." He raises his hands. The gun cocks. The owner is a slim blonde girl about the same age as Jamie and Sam.

"No, I'm just real happy to see you. Don't move." She tells him.

Dean snickers softly. "Not moving, copy that. You know, you should know something, miss. When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back. Because it makes it real easy to do..."  
He turns fluidly, grabbing the rifle and cocking it."That."

Jo punches him in the face and takes back the rifle. Dean doubles over, clutching his nose. "Sam! Jamie! Need some help in here." He starts muttering. "I can't see, I can't even see."

Andrew kicks the door in and Jo turns her rifle on him and Jamie, who enter with their guns drawn. The back door opens to reveal Sam, both hands on his head. He enters slowly. "Sorry, Dean, I can't right now. I'm a... little tied up." He tells Dean, and then glances to Andrew and Jamie who are slowly entering the room. Sam nods his head, indicating Ellen, who is behind him with a handgun pointed at his head.

"Hello Ellen." Jamie calls.

"Jamie?" She asks. "AJ?" She looks at them and then at Sam and Dean. "Sam? Dean? Winchester?"

Dean, Jamie, and Sam all answer at the same time. "Yeah."

"Son of a bitch." Ellen smirks, lowering her gun. Jamie and Andrew lower theirs.

"Jo, you can take the gun off my brother now, please." Jamie says. Jo looks at her and then toward her mother.

"Mom, you know these guys?" Jo asks.

Ellen nods. "Yeah, these must be John Winchester's boys. Jamie's his daughter and Andrew is her boyfriend." She laughs. "Hey, I'm Ellen. This is my daughter Jo."

Jo finally lowers her rifle, and Dean smiles at her. "Hey."

Dean looks at her. "You're not gonna hit me again, are you?"

Ellen goes behind the bar and hands Dean a small towel filled with ice. He, Sam, Jamie, and Andrew are all sitting around the bar. "Here you go."

Dean nods, taking it. "Thanks. You called our dad, said you could help. Help with what?"

"Well, the demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it."

Dean looks surprised. "What, was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who, who are you? How do you know about all this?"

Jamie looks at her brother. "Dean." She shoves his arm. "Sorry Ellen."

Ellen puts her hands up. "Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago. John was like family once."

"How do you know our sister?" Sam asks, trying to dissolve the tension. "And Andrew."

"Andrew and his dad and brother passed through here a couple times. Jamie…or should I say Jace. I reached out to her trying to get ahold of John." Ellen looks at Jamie and smiles.

Jamie smiles back. "She helped me find you two."

Dean shakes his head. "That's all well and good, but how come Dad never mentioned you before?"

Ellen shakes her head. "You'd have to ask him that."

"So why exactly do we need your help?" Dean asks. Jamie shoves him again.

Ellen has about had enough of Dean's attitude. "Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if..." She stops, realizing. She looks at Jamie. Jamie turns her head and leans into Andrew. "He didn't send you." Dean looks down, then back at Sam. "He's all right, isn't he? Jamie, he's alright?" Jamie shakes her head.

Sam speaks up. "No. No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, um, it just got him before he got it, I guess."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. We're all right." Dean tells her.

Ellen looks at him. "Really? I know how close you and your dad were."

"Really, lady, I'm fine."

"Well be alright, Ellen. But we are kind of on our own now." Jamie says.

Sam nods. "So look, if you can help, we could use all the help we can get."

Ellen nods. "Well, we can't. But Ash will."

"Ash?" Andrew asks, looking across the bar.

Sam looks at Andrew confused. "Who's Ash? You mean…"

Ellen looks over. "Ash!" The man passed out on the bar jerks awake and sits up, flailing.

"What? It closin' time?" He asks.

"That's Ash." Andrew tells Sam.

"Mm-hmm. He's a genius." Jo tells them.

A brown folder is slapped down on the bar; Sam and Ash are sitting, Dean is standing behind them with Jamie and Andrew. Jo is on the other side of the bar pouring glasses of water.

Dean looks down. "You've gotta be kidding me, this guy's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie."

Ash snickers. "I like you."

"Thanks."

Jo rolls her eyes. "Just give him a chance."

"Yeah, don't judge a book by its cover, big brother." Jamie tells him. Dean sits and opens the folder.

"All right. This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so uh, let's see what you make of it." Ash pulls out the papers and starts rifling through them. He shakes his head.

"Come on. This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody can track a demon like this."

Sam and Jamie look at each other and then at Ash. "Our dad could."

"There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations, I mean.. damn! They're signs. Omens. Uh, if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms... You ever been struck by lightening? It ain't fun." Ash tells them.

"Well I'm impressed." Jamie smirks.

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time, uh, give me... fifty one hours." He gets up to leave.

Dean stops him. "Hey, man?"

"Yeah?"

Dean hesitates. "I, uh, I dig the haircut."

"All business up front, party in the back." As he leaves, Jo walks by, flirting a little with Dean. He checks her out tiredly, then gets up to follow her. Jamie and Andrew turn to each other and sit down. Sam sees something behind the bar.

"Hey, Ellen, what is that?" Sam asks.

"It's a police scanner. We keep tabs on things, we..."

Sam shakes his head. "No, no, no, no, the, um, the folder."

"Uh, I was gonna give this to a friend of mine. But take a look, if you want."

She takes a folder from the wall and places it in front of same. It has some newspaper clippings attached to the front, and on the front, in red marker:

COUPLE MURDERED  
CHILD LEFT ALIVE  
MEDFORD, WISC.

Sam looks at it and then reaches over and touches Jamie. She looks over at him and then gets up and moves closer. Andrew leans in. "Jamie?" Sam asks. Jamie closes her eyes and touches the clipping. She gets flashes of a creepy looking clown. She sees a little girl. She sees the couple murdered. She sees the creepy clown again and nearly jumps out of her chair as she opens her eyes. "Jamie?" Sam asks again. Ellen stares at her.

"You're a psychic?" Ellen asks. "Your daddy never mentioned that."

"He didn't know." Jamie says breathing deeply. She shivers. Andrew puts his arms around her. "God…"

"What?" Sam asks.

"Well you definitely have something here. Something pretty creepy too." She tells him.

"You gonna check it out?" Ellen asks. Sam nods. He gets up and goes over to the window where Dean is sitting down by JO.

"Dean, come here, check this out."

"Yeah."

Dean and Sam walk back over to the bar where the folder is. "A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of. Looks to me like there might be a hunt. Jamie had a few flashes of the murdered couple. She's pretty sure it's supernatural."

Dean looks unimpressed. "Yeah. So?"

"So, you should check it out." Jamie tells him.

Dean sighs. "Alright let's go." Dean and Sam start to go out the door. Andrew gets up to follow them but Jamie stays in her seat. "Jamie?" Dean asks, realizing his sister isn't following them.

"I'm not going." She says softly.

"What?" Sam asks.

"I uh…I'm gonna help Ash. Or something."

"Honey, what's the matter?" Andrew asks, going back and sitting next to her.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I just…I'm gonna sit this one out. You go. Go if you want." Jamie tells him.

"No, it's fine. Besides, the guys are gonna need research done anyway. We'll stay here and piece this out." He turns back to Sam and Dean. "I'll grab my laptop and Jamie's stuff and we'll set up shop."

Sam and Dean look at each other and sigh. Andrew follows them out to the minivan.

Awhile later Jamie and Andrew are sitting at a table. There's a laptop open and several books and newspapers are scattered around them. Ellen brings them two plates of food.

"Here ya go. Late, late night special. Early breakfast." Jamie and Andrew smile tiredly. "You two sure you don't want me to put you up for a few hours? I've got a spare bed up at the house."

"We're fine, Ellen. Thanks." Andrew tells her.

"Alright. You know where to find me." Ellen tells them, walking away. Jamie absently mindedly picks at her food while reading an article. Andrew glances at the laptop screen and then at her.

"Jamie what's wrong? You've been quiet for hours." Jamie looks up at him for a moment and then sighs. "I know you're terrified of clowns, but isn't Sam the same way? What's holding you back?"

Jamie sighs again and gets up. "Don't tell Dean, alright?" Andrew nods. "When I was 14 I ran away from the convent for a month with this carnie. He was…heh, all kinds of wrong for me, but he…offered me freedom, a chance to get away. So for a month I pretended I was 18 and I breathed fire. And then one night we were packing up, and he…he was high or drunk or something, but he grabbed me and put me against the wall. And he was wearing his crown outfit. I kicked and tried to scream and then all of sudden there was a knife in his neck. It was my knife, my hunter's knife. He dropped me, fell over. My arm and shirt were covered in blood. I ran. Eventually someone found me. It was Caleb, actually. The convert must have gotten ahold of Dad somehow, told him I was missing. Caleb never told me but I'm pretty sure if he hadn't found me Dad would have come up to find me himself, and I kinda wish I would have known that because I would have ran away for real. But…I can't…I can't be there on this hunt. If that thing gets ahold got ahold of Sam or Dean…I just can't."

Andrew got up and put his arms around her. "It's okay." She hugged him back. As she pulled away one of the papers fell to the ground. She bent over to pick it up and suddenly sees a little boy in a funhouse. She has a flash of the clown again. She sees the little boy with the clown, and the clown killing his parents. She sees the clock on the wall. She screams. Andrew grabs her. "Jace! Jace open your eyes."

"There's another murder. There's another murder. It's happening right now. Oh jesus, it's happening right now and there's nothing I can do." Andrew leans in and holds her.

"There was another murder last night." It's day now. Jamie is asleep sitting at the table with her head in her arms. Andrew is leaning against the bar, talking to Dean.

"Yeah, we just found out. We're gonna try to track this thing. We're thinking maybe cursed object or something. See what the EMF says."

"Yeah."

"Yeah. Hows Jamie?"

"Exhausted."

"Yeah. Is she…ya know…"

"Yeah, she'll be fine Dean."

"Okay. Call us if you guys find anything new."

"Alright." Andrew hangs up the phone and walks over to the table. He pulls his t-shirt back on over his wifebeater and slides a sheet of paper out from underneath Jamie. He picks up a beer can and shakes it, drinking from it as he looks at the piece of paper. He puts it back down and walks into the back room where Ash is. "Hey dude."

"Hey AJ." Ash is typing away on a laptop and drinking a beer.

"How's it coming?"

"It's coming. This John Winchester must have been pretty obsessed with this demon because woah boy does he have some good stuff here."

"Yeah. Well, that demon killed his wife."

"Huh. Guess that explains it. So those boys and your girl must have been raised around this stuff. Like you and your brother."

"Yeah." He takes another swig from the beer can. "Ash, do you ever wonder about dying?"

"Why?"

"I just…Jace is a psychic and I just worry about…"

"You wanna know if you're gonna be able to handle having your girl seein your death." Ash stops typing and takes another gulp of his beer before turning to Andrew.

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Aje we all gotta go sometime. But uh, just be careful." Andrew nods and takes another drink from his beer.

Later that night Ellen has finally convinced Jamie and Andrew to sleep in her spare bed. Jamie has a vision of the clown with a little girl. She sees it enter the little girl's house and then wakes up screaming. Andrew is jolted away and clamps his hand over her mouth. "Shh. Don't wake up Ellen and Jo." He looks at her. She breaths deeply and sighs. He puts his arms around her for a moment and then reaches over for her phone. He dials Dean's number and puts it on speaker. "Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Dean where are you?"

"Staking out a place."

"He'll be there Dean. I saw it. Be careful. "

"Thanks for the heads up. Talk to you soon."

Dean hangs up. Jamie curls back under the covers. Andrew puts his arms around her and pulls her in close.

Early the next morning Jamie's phone goes off. She picks it up groggily and looks at it. The caller id says "Sammy" She answers it. "Sam?" She asks with a yawn.

"Jamie. We caught up with it last night. Dean shot it with rock salt and it's not a spirit."

"Damnit." Jamie sighs. She looks back at Andrew.

"Ellen?" Andrew gets out of bed and calls for Ellen. She comes to the door and looks in on Jamie.

"What's going on."

"It's Sam. Here, talk to him." Jamie gets out of bed and hands the phone to Ellen. She and Andrew pull their books and John's journal. Andrew flips it open to a page labeled "Rakshasa." Jamie looks at and shudders.

"Ellen, it's a Rakshasa." She says bringing the book over to her. Ellen repeats this to Sam.

"Sam honey, it's an ancient hindu lore creature. They feed on human flesh, appear in human form."

Jamie leans in. "They can't enter a house without being invited."

"You have to be careful because they can make themselves invisible." Ellen tells him. Jamie points to the part of the page about a brass knife. "You have to use a brass knife to kill it."

Jamie moves to speak into the phone. "Sam, you and Dean be careful."

A little bit later Jamie and Andrew are back in the bar, dressed, and cleaning up their books and research. "I'll never get used to putting things away. I burn everything."

"I was wondering what happened to all my stuff on those ghosts in Kansas city." They laugh. Ash comes out. "Hey Ash."

"Hey. Your brothers back yet?" Jamie shakes her head. "Well I'm ready whenever they get back."

"You found a way to track the demon?"

"Of course I did. I told you I would."

"Never doubted ya, Ash. I swear." Andrew holds his hands up innocently. Jamie elbows him in the ribs.

Dean and Sam come back a few hours later and take a seat at the bar; Ellen lays down a couple of beers. Jamie and Andrew take a seat beside them.

"You boys did a hell of a job. Your dad would be proud." Ellen tells Sam and Dean.

Sam nods. "Thanks."

Jamie stares at Sam and Dean. Dean reaches over and puts his arm over her shoulder. He smirks and she smiles. He lets go of her and she gets up. Andrew gets up and they move over to the pool table. Jo sits down in Jamie's vacated chair and gives Sam a look.

Sam shudders. "Oh yeah, um, I've gotta... uh, I've gotta go. Over there. Right now."

Across the room Andrew and Jamie snicker. "Come play pool with us, Sam." Andrew tells him. Jamie picks up another pool stick and gestures for him to come over. Bits of Jo and Dean's conversation spill over the twack of pool balls. The back door opens and Ash enters, carrying the folder and a bizarre looking laptop.

"Where you guys been? Been waitin' for ya." He looks at Sam and then over to Dean.

Sam shakes his head. "We were working a job, Ash. Clowns?"

"Clowns? What the f-"

"Come on, Ash I told ya they were working." Andrew says, walking around the table. Dean shakes his head.

"You got something for us, Ash?"

Ash sets the laptop down on a table. It looks homemade, with exposed wiring. Jamie looks at and raises an eyebrow.

"Ash you're a genius or a nutjob." She looks at him and he smirks, cocking an eyebrow and winking at her.

Sam examines the laptop and then turns to Ash. "Did you find the demon?"

Ash shakes his head. "It's nowhere around. At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises his head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like Divine on dog dookie."

"English, Ash." Andrew tells him, giving him a serious look.

Sam scratches his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world. my rig'll go off. Like a fire alarm."

Deam reaches for the laptop. Ash gives him a look.

"Do you mind...yeah." Dean pulls the laptop towards him.

Sam is impressed. "Ash, where did you learn to do all this?"

"M.I.T. Before I got bounced for... fighting."

"M.I.T.?"

Jamie and Andrew turn to Sam and shake their heads.

"It's a school in Boston." Ash tells them.

Dean looks up. "Okay. You give us a call as soon as you know something?"

Ash nods. "Si, si, compadre."

Dean looks at Jamie and Andrew. "You two ready to hit the road?" They nod. Dean takes another sip of his beer, then sets it down. Ash picks it up. Dean, Jamie, Andrew, and Sam get up to leave.

Ellen stops them. "Hey, listen, Sam, Dean, if you boys need a place to stay I've got a couple beds out back. And Jamie, AJ, you two are welcome any time."

Dean looks at her. "Thanks, but no. There's something I gotta finish. "

Ellen nods. "Okay."

Dean and Sam go to the door. Jamie hugs Ellen.

"Thank you. For everything."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Any time, you two look me up. You'll know where I'll be." She smiles. Jamie and Andrew nod and head out after Dean and Sam.

Back at Bobby's Jamie and Andrew are packing the truck. She sends Andrew into the house for the last bit of stuff and walks across the Junkyard to where Dean is working on the car and Sam pacing nearby. She stops and stands a few feet away, listening to their conversation.

"You were right." Sam tells Dean.

"About what?"

"About me and dad. I'm sorry that the last time I was with him I tried to pick a fight. I'm sorry that I spent most of my life angry at him. I mean, for all I know he died thinking that I hate him. So you're right. What I'm doing right now, it's too little. It's too late." Sam pauses. Jamie walks towards them. Sam looks up at her and then looks at Dean. "I miss him, man. And I feel guilty as hell. And I'm not all right. Not at all. But neither are you. That much I know." He looks down again and then moves away. "I'll let you get back to work."

Sam walks past Jamie and heads towards the house. Jamie stands in the same spot, looking back at him. She slowly turns toward Dean. Dean is still for a moment. He picks up a crowbar and smashes the window of a nearby car. Jamie shudders. Then he starts slamming it into the trunk of his own car, over and over. It clatters to the ground, and Dean looks after where Sam has gone, lip trembling. Jamie hurries over and throws herself into his arms. Without a word he wraps his arms around her and holds her close to him.

"What if I can't save him?" He finally asks her, pulling back just a little. She pulls back and stares into his eyes.

"What if you can't kill him?"


	7. 213 Houses of the Holy

"I am so tired I could sleep for a week." Andrew threw open the door to the motel room and dropped his bag on the bed. Jamie chuckled behind him. They were both dressed like vampire hookers in combat boots and leather: Jamie in a tight leather dress with mesh sleeves and fishnet stockings, Andrew in leather pants and his black button down shirt half open. His hair, normally messy and on end was spiked more prominently and he was wearing eyeliner and a fake lip piercing. She had paired eyeliner with dark eye shadow and blood red lipstick. Her hair had been dyed black recently; it was flowed over her shoulders in loose waves. They looked each other up and down and laughed, despite the fact they had spent the night together. Andrew took out their machetes and began cleaning the blood from the blades while Jamie unpacked the research file to burn it. The buzzing of a cellphone startled the pair and Jamie hunted through her bag for the device.

"Sammy?" She put the phone to her ear and waited for an answer from her twin.

"Hey Jamie, where are you?" Sam buzzed on the other end. "I got something you wanna check out."

"I'm in…AJ where are we exactly?" Jamie looked over her shoulder to her boyfriend.

"About 20 miles south of Pittsburgh." He answered.

"Yeah. We just took out a nest. Anyway, what's going on?"

"Dean and I got a chick who claims she killed a man because an angel told her to. And she's not the only one." Jamie's eyes lit up. "You know more about this stuff then I do; I think you should come down."

"I'm on my way." She hung up and grabbed her backpack. Andrew looked at her. "What?"

"We just took out a whole nest, baby." He got off the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm exhausted, you've gotta be too."

"Aje," She sighed and moved out of his arms. She opened her backpack and started to throw things inside. "Are we going to have this discussion every time I need to pick up and haul ass over to my brothers?" Andrew sighed. Jamie looked around. "Where's my gun?"

Andrew reached over towards the nightstand and handed her the handgun. "Here."

"Thanks." She took it and stuffed it into one of the pockets on her backpack before heading back towards the door. He grabbed her wrist and turned her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you too." She whispered. "And I'll be careful."

Dean is lying on the motel bed, which is vibrating, as he listens to music on his phone. As Sam enters, Dean doesn't notice him. "Hey." Sam smacks Dean's boot to get his attention. "Hey!" He says again.

Dean finally looks up. "Hey. Man, you gotta try this, I mean there really is magic in the Magic Fingers."

Sam shifts from side to side, looking uneasy. "Dean, you're enjoying that way too much, it's kind of making me uncomfortable."

Dean rolls his eyes at the comment. "What am I supposed to do? I mean, you've got me on lockdown here, I'm bored out of my skull."

Sam sighs and shakes his head. "Hey, you were the bank robber on the eleven o'clock news, not me. We can't risk you just walking into a government facility."

Dean looks slightly annoyed. "Hmm."

Sam waves a dismissing hand at Dean as he turns to go into the bathroom. The bed shutters to stillness.

Dean looks down and pouts. "Aw, damnit! That was my last quarter." He turns towards Sam's direction. "Hey! You got any quarters?" Dean pulls his headphones out and gets up, crossing the room and leaning on the doorway to the bathroom where Sam is washing his face.

"No."

There's a knock on the door. A second later it blows open. Sam and Dean jump. Jamie is standing there still wearing her clothes from the night before. Sam and Dean stare at her. She rolls her eyes and closes the door.

Sam stutters, looking his sister up and down. "Uh. Uh. Jamie?"

Dean, however, is amused. "Something you want to tell us, sis?"

Jamie rolls her eyes in response. "I was undercover you idiots." She puts her bag down on the bed and pulls out jeans, sneakers, and a tank top. She sits down on the bed and pulls her boots off.

Dean raises an eyebrow. "At a strip club?"

Jamie doesn't look at him as she focuses on changing her clothes. "No. Trying to find a nest of vampires. Word on the street was they had seen the demon." She rolls down her stockings and pulls them off, and then slides her jeans on under her dress. Sam and Dean look at the wall.

"Did you find them?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. But they didn't know anything." She shifts her position on the bed so she can get her sports bra on. She unzips the back of the dress and pulls it off, and then pulls her tank top on and gets up, picking up her leather jacket. She puts it on and then pulls out her utility belt where she's holstered her gun and knife. "Alright. What do you guys got?" She asks, tightening the belt around her waist.

Dean turns to look at Sam. "So uh did you get in to see that crazy hooker?"

Sam takes another moment to compose himself, still not over his sister's appearance. "Wha? Yeah. Gloria Sitnick. And I'm not so sure she's crazy."

Dean smirks, crossing his arms. "But she seriously believes she was touched by an angel?"

"Yeah. Blinding light, feelings of spiritual ecstasy, the works. I mean, she's living in a locked ward and she's totally at peace."

Jamie puts her hands on her hips, walking over to stand next to Dean. "Interesting."

Dean rolls his eyes, looking much less impressed. "Oh yeah, you're right, that sounds completely sane. What about the dude she stabbed?"

Sam looks up at the ceiling trying to remember all the details. "Uh, Carl Gully. She said she killed him because he was evil."

Now Dean looks interested. "Was he?"

"I don't know. I mean, I couldn't find any dirt on him. I mean, he didn't have a criminal record, he worked over at the campus library, had lots of friends, he was a churchgoer."

Jamie frowns. "Doesn't sound evil. Course that doesn't mean squat."

Dean shrugs. "Hm. So then Gloria's just your standard-issue wacko. I mean, she wouldn't be the first nutjob in history to kill in the name of religion, know what I mean?" Jamie nods, but Sam isn't so convinced.

"No, but she's the second in town to murder because an angel told them to. Little odd, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Jamie agrees.

Dean relents. "Well, odd yes, supernatural maybe. But angels? I don't think so."

His brother and sister both turn to him, both looking slightly shocked. "Huh?" Jamie utters, moving her hair away from her face.

Sam is equally surprised. "Why not?"

Dean replies to them as if the answer is obvious. "Because there's no such thing, guys."

Jamie takes a step back. "Um…what?"

Sam throws his arms up in exasperation. "Dean, there's ten times as much lore about angels as there is about anything else we've ever hunted."

"Yeah, you know what? There's a ton of lore on unicorns too. In fact, I hear that they, they ride on silver moonbeams, and they shoot rainbows out of their ass."

"Dean…" Jamie chides.

Sam however sits down on the bed and looks at Dean, totally deadpan. "Wait, there's no such thing as unicorns?"

Dean smirks. "That's cute. I'm just saying, man, there's just some legends that you just, you file under "bullcrap".

"And you've got angels on the bullcrap list." Sam returns.

"Yep."

Jamie sits down beside Sam on the bed and looks at Dean with a thoughtful expression. "Why?"

"Because I've never seen one." He answers.

Jamie shrugs. "So?"

"So, I believe in what I can see."

Sam is now completely unimpressed. "Dean! You and I and Jamie have seen things that most people couldn't even dream about."

Dean shakes his head. "Exactly. With our own eyes, that's hard proof, okay? But in all this time I have never seen anything that looks like an angel. And don't you think that if they existed that we would have crossed paths with them? Or at least know someone that crossed paths with them? No. This is a, a demon or a spirit, you know, they find people a few fries short of a happy meal, and they trick them into killing these randoms."

Jamie gets up and stares at Dean. "I was raised in a covent, that's all I'm gonna say."

Dean looks at her smirking. "Well have you seen an angel?"

"No. But that's doesn't mean a thing. I've never seen a ghoul, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. It just means I haven't come across one."

"But other hunters have."

Jamie turns and looks at Sam. "I can't talk to him, you talk to him."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Can we just…I'm going stir-crazy man. Hey, let's go by Gloria's apartment, huh?"

Sam looks up. "I was just there. Nothing. No sulfur, no EMF."

Jamie nods. "So no spirit or demon."

Dean smirks. "Not so fast. You didn't see any fluffy white wing feathers?"

Jamie elbows him. Sam rolls his eyes. "But Gloria did say the angel gave her a sign, right beside Carl Gully's doorway."

"Could be something at his house, worth checking out." Dean says, eagerly edging towards the door.

Dean is driving as they pull up in front of Carl Gully's house. It is a moderate single-family home with steps leading up to the front door; to the left of the door is a plastic angel figure. Dean mounts the steps and sees it. He turns back to his brother and sister. "Oh hey, Sam, Jamie. I think I found it. It's a sign from up above." Sam and Jamie roll their eyes. Dean peers in the window. Well, I think I learned a valuable lesson: Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's, or you might get filleted by a hooker from God. Ha."

"I'm laughing on the inside." Sam tells him.

"I'm not." Jamie retorts. She and Sam wander around back, through a gate, and Dean follows; they find a wooden storm cellar.

Sam looks at it curiously. "You know, Gloria said the guy was guilty to his deepest foundations."

Dean turns to look at him. "You think she literally meant the foundation?"

Jamie opens the doors. "Well I'll guess we'll find out." She grabs her flashlight out of her belt and walks down the steps. Sam and Dean take out their flashlights and follow her.

"Hmm." Dean mutters, shining the flashlight around.

Jamie looks around. She puts a hand on her stomach and looks pained. "Well this is definitely setting off my radar. I have that sick feeling in the pit of the stomach."

Sam turns to her. "Yeah? Anything helpful?"

Jamie closes her eyes and stands still. After a moment she nods. "The wall." She nods again in that direction. Sam walks over and notices scratches on a wall near the floor; he leans over to get a closer look.

"I think you're right. Dean."

Dean walks over to his brother and sister. "You got something?"

Sam digs at the wall and pulls something out.

Jamie's mouth falls open. "Oh."

Dean leans in. "What is it?"

Sam turns it over in his hand. "It's a fingernail."

Dean pulls three shovels from the wall and they begin to dig. After awhile a deep pit has been completed to reveal a pile of skeletons.

Jamie peers down into the pit. "I would say that's the definition of guilty to your deepest foundations."

Sam nods in agreement. "So much for the innocent churchgoing librarian."

Dean relents a little. "Yeah, well, whatever spoke to Gloria about this knew what it was talking about, I'll give you that."

Back at the motel, Dean is sitting on the edge of the bed with a police radio in hand, listening. He looks painfully bored. Jamie is sitting crossed legged on the other bed reading from an old bound leather book.

A woman's voice comes over the radio. "We've got a minor TA, involving a motorcycle and a, uh van, this is at the corner of 28th and Pine, 28th and Pine."

Jamie looks over from her book. "Fascinating."

"I know, right." Dean says, scoffing. As Sam enters, he sighs and looks back at the "Magic Fingers" controller.

"Did you bring quarters?" He asks his brother excitedly.

Sam frowns at the controller. Jamie closes her book. "Dude, I'm not enabling your sick habit." He tosses a sandwich to Jamie and another at Dean.

Jamie snickers. "Thanks for ruining my appetite." She opens the sandwich and looks at it.

Sam shrugs. "Sorry Jamie. Dean, you're like one of those lab rats that pushes the pleasure button instead of the food button until it dies."

"What are you talking about? I eat. And we got news."

"Me too."

Dean nods. "All right, you go first."

"Three students have disappeared off the college campus in the last year. All of them were last seen at the library."

"Where Carl Gully worked." Dean realizes.

Sam nods. "Yep."

"Sick bastard."

Jamie nods in agreement. "You can say that again."

"So Gloria's angel…" Sam begins, but is cut off by Dean.

"Angel?"

Sam and Jamie look at each other and roll their eyes. "Okay. Whatever this thing is . . ."

"Okay, well, whatever it is, it's struck again." Dean states, looking over at Sam.

"What?"

Jamie gets up from the bed and walks over to her twin. "We've been listening to the police radio; this dude, Zach Smith, some local drunk; he went up to a stranger's front door last night, stabbed him in the heart."

"And then I'm guessing he went to the police and confessed?"

"Yep. Roma Downey made him do it." Dean jokes, crossing the room to take a Post-it note off the mirror. "Now, I, uh . . . I got the victim's address."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Actually I got it because Dean made me repeat it twenty times while he hunted down a pen."

Dean looks over at his sister with a smirk. "That's what you're here for."

Sam snickers.

Sam Jamie and Dean climb over the fence into the victim's yard and sneak in through the window. Sam sits down at the computer as Dean and Jamie search the house. Sam leans across the chair to get a better look at what Dean's doing. "Find anything?" He asks.

Dean looks up, holding a magazine. "Well, Frank liked his catalogue shopping, but that's about all I got." He turns away from Sam and calls down the hall. "Jamie?"

Jamie's voice echos into the room. "I'm looking!"

Sam shakes his head. "Not much here. Except he's got this one locked file on his computer, I can't . . . . hold on." He presses a few buttons, then grins in triumph. "Not anymore." He looks through the file, a disgusted look appearing on his face. Jamie walks into the room and stands beside Dean. "God."

"What?" Dean asks, looking up.

Jamie steps back and gags. Sam and Dean look at her.

"Ugh, now it's all in my head." She explains, glaring at Sam.

Dean looks confused. "What is she talking about?"

"Well, he's got all these emails. Dozens, to this lady named Jennifer." He pauses. "This lady who's thirteen years old."

Dean shakes his head. "Oh, I don't want to hear this."

Jamie nods. "My brain needs mace."

They walk over and lean in over Sam's shoulder. He glances back at them and then continues. "Looks like they met in a chat room. These emails are pretty personal, guys. Look at that. Setting up a time and place to meet."

"Great."

Sam scrolls down some more. "They were supposed to meet today."

Dean steps back considering. "Huh. Well, I guess if you're gonna stab someone, good timing. I don't know, man, this is weird, you know? I mean, sure, some spirits are out for vengeance, but this one's almost like a do-gooder, you know? Like a…"

"Avenging angel?" Sam offers. Dean turns away. Jamie looks at him, pointedly.

"Well, how else do you explain it, Dean? Three guys, not connected to each other, all stabbed through the heart?"

Sam nods. "At least two were world-class pervs, and I bet if you dug deep enough on the other guy…"

Dean picks up a flyer from the table. "Hey."

"What?" Sam asks, moving back in his chair. Jamie looks over at her brother.

"You said Carl Gully was a churchgoer, right?"

"Yeah." Sam answers. Jamie nods.

"What was the name of his church?"

"Our Lady of the Angels." Jamie says automatically.

Dean scoffs. "Of course that'd be the name."

Sam looks back at Jamie. "You know it?"

She nods. "Yeah I do. One of the nuns from my old school is good friends with the priest."

Dean holds up the church flier he's been looking at. "Looks like Frank went to the same church."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam walk through the sanctuary of the church. Dean and Sam glance around, looking for the priest. Jamie hangs back staring at the artwork. Dean points out something and trio advance towards friendly-looking priest named Father Reynolds. Jamie pushes through her brothers to greet him first.

"Hello Father Reynolds. I'm Jamie."They shake hands. "This is Dean, and Sam. We spoke on the phone earlier."

Father Reynolds nods. "Hello Jamie. Sister Catherine told me a thing or two about you."

Jamie's face lights up. "How is she?"

"Oh getting on in years. But she's still as sprite as ever." Father Reynolds looks past Jamie to Dean and Sam. "So you're interested in joining the parish?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, well, you know, we just don't feel right unless we hit church every Sunday." He shifts awkwardly.

"Where'd you say you lived before?" The priest asks. Jamie glances toward Sam and Dean.

Sam stutters so Dean answers. "Fremont, Texas."

"Yeah." Sam nods.

"Really? That's a nice town. St. Teresa's parish, you must know the priest there."

Dean looks at Jamie and then glances back at the priest. "Sure, yeah, no it's uh, Father O'Malley."

"Hmm, I know a…"

Jamie shakes her head. "He meant to say Father Shaughnessy." She says quickly.

"Oh of course! He's a good friend."

"Shaughnessy, exactly. What'd I say?" Dean says, trying to save face. Jamie and Sam look at each other.

"You know, we're just happy to be here now, Father." Sam tells him to move conversation along.

"And we're happy to have you, we could use some young blood around here." Father Reynolds tells them, looking a little sad.

Jamie nods. "Looks like it."

Dean glances towards Jamie and then back to the priest. "Hey, listen, I gotta ask — no offense, but uh, the neighborhood?"

"Well, it's gone to seed a little, there's no denying that, but that's why what the church does here is so important. Like I always say, you can expect a miracle, but in the meantime you work your butt off."

Dean tries not to look sheepish. "Huh. Yeah, we heard about the murders."

"Yes. The victims were parishioners of mine, I'd known them for years."

Sam picks up on this. "And the killers said that an angel made them do that?"

Reynolds nods. "Yes. Misguided souls, to think that God's messenger would appear and incite people to murder. It's tragic."

Jamie nods in agreement. "Yeah."

"So you don't believe in those angel yarns?" Dean asks with interest. Jamie elbows him. He gives her a "What?" look.

The priest shakes his head. "Oh, no, I absolutely believe. Kind of goes with the job description."

Jamie rolls her eyes and sees the painting of Michael. "Sam." Sam glances in the direction she's looking.

He nods to the painting on the wall. "Father, that's Michael, right?"

Father Reynolds turns toward the painting. "That's right. The archangel Michael, with the flaming sword. The fighter of demons, holy force against evil."

Jamie grins. "General of the armies of God. Prince of the heavenly host. The one who cast Satan into perdition. Sancte Michael archangele defende nos."

Fr. Reynolds looks at her impressed. Sam looks smug. Dean rolls his eyes. "You speak Latin?"

Jamie nods, her cheeks flushed. "Of course."

Sam clears his throat. "So they're not really the Hallmark card version that everybody thinks? They're fierce, right? Vigilant?"

"Well, I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful; but yes, a lot of Scripture paints angels as God's warriors. "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone down upon them, and they were terrified." Sam nods at the verse. Dean looks confused and turns to him and Jamie. His sister smiles again.

"Luke. Two nine." She answers. The priest nods giving her a smile back.

"Well, thank you for speaking with us, Father." Dean shoves Jamie's shoulder and Sam's to get them moving.

"Oh, it' s my pleasure. Hope to see you again."

They walk out the door of the Church unto the steps.

Dean sees a collection of tribute items at the bottom of the steps. "Hey, Father, what's, what is all that for?"

Jamie and Sam look at them, curiously.

"Oh, that's for Father Gregory. He was a priest here."

Jamie's eyes widen. Sam sets his jaw. He looks at Jamie and she looks back at him.

"Was?" Dean asks.

"He passed away right on these steps. He's interred in the church crypt."

"When did this happen?"

"Two months ago. He was shot for his car keys."

Jamie clears her throat. "That's terrible."

Sam nods. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. He was a good friend. I didn't even have time to administer his last rites. But like I said, it's a tough neighborhood. Ever since he died I've been praying my heart out."

"For what?"

"For deliverance, from the violence and the bloodshed around here. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose."

Dean nods. "Well, Padre, thanks. We'll see you again."

FR. Reynolds goes back inside; Dean, Jamie and Sam investigate the shrine.

Dean looks at his brother and sister. "Well, it's all starting to make sense. Devoted priest dies a violent death? That's vengeful spirit material right there." Sam shifts uncomfortably. Jamie frowns.

"He died without last rites too. A Catholic who dies without viaticum…" She cuts herself off, taking a deep breath and looking down.

Dean nods. "He knew all the other stiffs, because they went to church here, in fact I'm willing to bet that because he was their priest, he knew things about them that nobody else knew."

Jamie looks up at him. "And who said confession was a bad thing, big brother?"

Sam doesn't look convinced. "Then again, Father Reynolds started praying for God's help about two months ago, right? Right about the time all this started happening?"

Dean and Jamie turn to him. "Aw, come on, man, what's your deal?"

"Sammy…"

"What do you mean?"

Now Dean shifts uncomfortably."Look, I'll admit I'm a bit of a skeptic, but since when are you all Mr. 700 Club? No, seriously. From the get-go you've been willing to buy this angel crap, man. I mean, what's next, are you going to start praying every day?"

Sam smirks. "I do."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Really?"

Dean takes a step back. "What?"

"I do pray every day. I have for a long time."

Dean is clearly startled. "The things you learn about a guy. Huh." He turns to his sister. "Jamie? Oh I know you do, you're as gung ho on this as he is if not more so."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, I think you're right about the vengeful spirit. But I definitely believe in angels. I pray to Michael for protection from possession every night." She pulls out rosary beads.

Dean shakes his head, walking away. "I can't believe I'm running with Pope Benedict and Sister Teresa. Come on, let's go check out Father Gregory's grave."

"Hey you got the current Pope right."

The crypt is a maze of stone hallways, with numerous stone angel figurines. They wander through slowly, Dean a little ahead of Sam and Jamie. Dean goes into another room with Jamie, Sam stops, looking back at one of the angels. He frowns as it, and then the entire room, begin to shake. A brilliant light appears behind him and he turns, confusion washing away to a look of awe. In the next room Jamie's eyes go wide and she drops to her knees.

"Jamie?" Dean drops down next to her.

Jamie looks up at him. "Sam."  
Dean hurries back into the room. "Sam, come on, get the lead out." He sees Sam in a dead faint on the floor, and rushes over. Jamie rushes in behind him. "Sammy? Sammy! Hey!"

Sam jerks awake, groaning.

"Sam?" Jamie asks. "You okay?"

Sam stares at the stone angel, stunned. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay."

"Come on." Dean and Jamie haul Sam to his feet and guide him into the sanctuary, each with a hand on his arms, and Dean shuts the door behind them.

Jamie stares at her brother. "Sam, you've seen…"

Dean interrupts her. "You saw it, didn't you? Didn't you?"

Sam is nodding. "Yeah. Yeah. Guys, I saw an angel."

"You..."Sam sits as Dean pulls out a flask, unscrews it and hands it to him. "All right. Here."

Sam refuses it. "I don't want a drink."

Dean shrugs, takes a swig and hands it to Jamie. "So. What makes you think you saw a, uh, angel?"

"It just, it appeared before me and I just, this feeling washed over me, you know? Like, like peace. Like grace."

Dean looks at Jamie.

Jamie nods. "He's right. I felt it."

"Okay, Ecstasy Boy, maybe we'll get you some glowsticks and a nice Dr. Seuss hat, huh?"

Jamie slaps her brother's shoulder. "Dean, stop."

"Dean, I'm serious. It spoke to me, it knew who I was."

Dean sighs. "It's just a spirit, Sam. Okay? And it's not the first one to be able to read people's minds." he sits down on another pew. "Okay, let me guess. You were personally chosen to smite some sinner, you've just got to wait for some divine bat signal, is that it?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Great. I don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did?"

"Actually I did, Dean. And the angel told me. He hasn't done anything. Yet. But he will."

Dean stands and starts pacing. "Oh, this is, this is . . . I don't believe this."

Jamie stares at Sam.

"Dean, the angel hasn't been wrong yet! Someone's going to do something awful, and I can stop it!"

"You know, you're supposed to be bad too, maybe, maybe I should just stop you right now."

Jamie gets up and grabs Dean's jacket. "Not the same thing, Dean. So not the same thing…" Dean looks at her and shoves her away.

"What do you know about it? Not a damn thing, Jamie." She snarls at him. He eyes her.

"Don't diss her like that!" Sam looks up angrily. "You know what, Dean? I don't understand! Why can't you even consider the possibility —"

"What, that this is an angel?"

"Yes! Maybe we're hunting an angel here, and we should stop! Maybe this is God's will! Right, Jamie?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Don't. Don't put me in the middle of this."

"You were born in the middle of this!"

Dean groans. "Okay, all right. You know what? I get it. You two, you've got faith. That's — hey, good for you. I'm sure it makes things easier." he sits again. Jamie sighs and leans against the pew. "I'll tell you who else had faith like that — mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me."

Sam and Jamie look at him. "You never told me that."

"Or me."

Dean looks up at them. "Well, what's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds. You want me to believe in this stuff? I'm going to need to see some hard proof. You got any?" He pauses. "Well, I do. Proof that we're dealing with a spirit."

Jamie leans her head in against Sam's. "Maybe he's right, Sam. Or maybe you are. I don't know. I just think we need to go about this from both angles, alright?"

They make their way through the crypt to find that Father Gregory's tombstone is covered in creeping vines; Dean, Jamie, and Sam crouch before it.

Sam fingers it with interest. "That looks like—"

Dean nods. "It's wormwood."

Jamie jerks backward. "Wormwood? The plant associated with the dead? The ones that are not at rest?"

"Yeah. I don't see it growing anywhere else, except over the murdered priest's marker. It's him, guys."

Jamie looks up. "God…"

"Maybe." Sam says.

"Maybe?"

"Maybe?"

"Jamie. Dean, I don't know what to think."

"Okay. You want some more proof? I'll give you more proof."

Sam looks at him. "How?"

"We'll summon Gregory's spirit."

Jamie grins. "A séance."

"What? Here? In the church?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we just need a few odds and ends, and that séance ritual in Dad's journal."

"Actually since we're in a church maybe we should use the one in my journal. It's a little more…religious."

Dean high fives Jamie. "Good thinking."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Oh, a séance, great. Hope Whoopi's available."

Dean is deadpan. "That's funny, actually. Seriously. If Father Gregory's spirit is around, a séance will bring him right to us. If it's him, then we'll put him to rest."

"But if it's an angel, it won't show. Nothing will happen."

Jamie puts her arms around Sam. "That's the point, Sam. This way we'll be able to tell for sure."

"Exactly. That's one of the perks of the job, Sam, we don't have to operate on faith. Don't you want to know for sure?"

Dean, Jamie, and Sam leave a small grocery store, Sam holding a paper sack and smiling. "Dude. I'll admit we've gone pretty ghetto with spellwork before, but this takes the cake. I mean, a Spongebob placemat instead of an altar cloth?"

Jamie pulls her leather jacket tighter over her torso. "Well I'd give ya a proper one, but mine burned the last time I exorcized a demon."

"We'll just put it Spongebob side down."

Sam laughs, then stops in shock, staring at something across the street: a young man holding a bunch of flowers; a bright white light glows behind him. Jamie stops and looks at Sam.

"Dean, Jamie, that's it."

Dean stops. "What?"

"The sign?"

Sam points. "Yeah, that's the sign!"

"Where?" Dean looks around.

"Right there, right behind that guy!" Sam tells them. Jamie points him out. "That's him, Dean. We have to stop him." The young man crosses the street; Sam starts to go after him but Dean and Jamie stop him.

"Wait a minute."

"What are you doing? Let me go."

"No, Sam wait a second."

"You're not going to go kill somebody because a ghost told you to, are you insane?" Dean squeezes his brother's shoulder. Jamie frowns.

"Dean, I'm not insane, I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to stop him."

"Define "stop", huh? I mean, what are you going to do?"

"Dean, please, he's going to hurt someone, you know it."

Jamie sighs. "Dean, we can't just ignore it."

He looks at her and then looks at Sam. "All right, come on."

The young man has gotten into a car and starts it up, pulling away. Dean gets in the driver side of his car and starts it; Sam tries to get in the other side but the door is locked. Jamie tries to open the passenger side but it's also locked.

"Dean."

"Dean. Unlock my door."

"You're not killing anyone, Sam. I got this guy, you two go do the séance."

"Dean!"

Jamie and Dean share a look. Jamie grabs the back of Sam's shirt. "Come on, Sam."

Dean pulls away. Jamie and Sam walk towards the Church.

Kneeling before Gregory's grave, Sam has the spell materials spread out: a circle of small white candles, a large black candle, the placemat (Spongebob side down), and both John's journal and Jamie's. He lights the candles. Jamie picks up her journal, and reads. "Amate spiritus obscure te quaerimus, te oramus nobiscum colloquere aput nos circita." Sam sprinkles some herb on the black candle and it flares once, brightly.

Father Reynolds enters. "What are you doing? What is this?" Sam and Jamie are both startled.

Sam grabs unto his sister. Jamie looks up. "Damnit. Father uh…"

"Uh, Father, please. We can explain. Um . . . actually, maybe we can't. Um. This is a, a séance."

"A séance? Young man, you are in the House of God. And you should know better, young lady."

"It's not…exactly a séance, um…uh…"Jamie holds up her rosary beads.

"It's based on early Christian rites, if that helps any."

"Enough. You two are coming with me."

Jamie shakes her head. "Father wait."

"Father, please, you, just wait a second!"

As the priest pulls Sam and Jamie to the exit, a familiar bright glow builds behind them. They turn, Reynolds in awe, Sam in disappointment, Jamie sighs.

"Oh my god! Is that, is that an angel?"

Jamie shakes her head. "No, it's not." She glances at her brother.

"No, it's not. It's just Father Gregory."

The bright glow dims and coalesces to reveal a young, handsome priest.

"Thomas?!"

"I've come in answer to your prayers." Gregory tells them. Sam and Jamie approach Gregory's spirit cautiously. He looks at them. "Sam. I thought I sent you on your path. You should hurry."

"Don't worry, it's being taken care of." Jamie says. She eyes his carefully.

Fr. Gregory grins, recognizing her. "Jamie Winchester. I never thought I'd see the day. What a lovely young woman you've become."

Sam raises an eyebrow and looks at his sister. "Jamie?"

Jamie looks at Sam. "He was a seminarian when I was at the convent." She smiles a little, remembering the young priest-to-be who would sneak her chocolate after-hours.

Sam nods. "Father, I'm sorry. But you're not an angel."

"Of course I am."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. You can't be."

"You're a man. You're a spirit. And you need to rest."

Father Gregory shakes his head. "I was a man. But now I'm an angel. I was on the steps of the church. And I felt that bullet pierce right through me. But there was no pain. And suddenly I could see . . .everything. Father Reynolds, I saw you, praying and crying here. I came to help you."

"Help me how? Those murders — that was because of you?"

"I received the Word of God. He spoke to me, told me to smite the wicked. I'm carrying out his will."

Jamie steps forward. "This cannot be God' will."

Reynolds nods. "You're driving innocent people to kill."

"Those innocent people are being offered redemption. Some people need redemption. Don't they, Sam?"

Jamie steps in front of Sam. Sam grabs unto her shoulders. "How can you call this redemption?" Jamie demands. Sam pulls on her.

"You can't understand it now. But the rules of man and the rules of God are two very different things."

Sam looks at him. "Those people. They're locked up."

"No, they're happy. They've found peace, beaten their demons. And I've given them the keys to heaven."

"No. No, this is vengeance, it's wrong. Thomas, this goes against everything you believe. You're lost, misguided."

"Father. No, I'm not misguided."

"You are not an angel, Thomas. Men cannot be angels."

"But . . . but I don't understand. You prayed for me to come."

"I prayed for God's help. Not this. What you're doing is not God's will. "Thou shalt not kill". That's the word of God."

FR. Gregory is staring, bewildered, at his own headstone. He turns to face Reynolds, Jamie, and Sam.

"Let us help you." Sam tells him. Jamie grabs her brother's arm.

"Please."

"No."

"It's time to rest, Thomas, to be at peace. Please, let me give you Last Rites."

"You have to have last rites. For a Catholic to be denied viaticum is unthinkable, it's against everything we've been taught. Please." Jamie begs.

FR. Gregory nods in resignation; FR. Reynolds lifts his hands in prayer. Jamie crosses herself and kneels down. Sam looks her and copies her motions. "Oh Holy Host, I call upon thee as a servant of Christ to sanctify our actions this day, in fulfillment of the will of God." Reynolds gasps as Gregory flickers like a distorted image.

"Father Reynolds?"

"Rest." Gregory kneels; Reynolds holds a hand over his forehead. "I call upon the archangel Raphael, Master of the Air, to make open the way. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit now descend; that this being might be awakened to the world beyond."

FR. Gregory does as the bright holy glow again, then vanishes. Reynolds lowers his hand in awe. Jamie and Sam look up in amazement.

Back in their motel room Sam and Jamie are packing. Jamie brings her bag over and looks at Sam. He looks at her and looks away. They haven't spoken since they got back. Jamie sighs. Dean walks in. "How was your day?"

Jamie glances at Sam and then looks at Dean. "You were right, if it makes you happy."

Dean pulls out his flask, takes a drink and hands it to Jamie. Jamie takes a drink and gives it back to Dean.

" It wasn't an angel, it was Gregory." Dean considering, offers it to Sam. Sam takes it.

"I don't know, Dean, I just . . . " he sits on the bed "I wanted to believe, so badly. It's so damn hard to do this, what we do. All alone, you know? There's so much evil out there in the world, Dean, I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up."

Dean sits on the bed beside him. "Yeah, well, don't worry about that. All right? I'm watching out for you."

Jamie sits on the bed at his other side. "So am I."

Sam nods. "Yeah, I know you are. But it's just you two. And I needed to think that there was something else watching too, you know? Some higher power. Some greater good. And that maybe . . ."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe I could be saved."

"Sam." Jamie reaches over and puts her arms around him. He wraps his arms around her and is quiet for a moment, then pulls back and looks at Dean.

He laughs. "But, uh, you know, that just clouded my judgement, and you're right. I mean, we've gotta go with what we know, with what we can see, with what's right there in front of our own two eyes."

Jamie shakes her head. "That doesn't mean we stop believing though. Hell, as long as this stuff exorcizes demons and spirits I'm gonna believe in it."

Dean nods. "Yeah, well, it's funny you say that."

"Why?"

Jamie looks at Dean and then smirks a little.

"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information. That guy in the car was bad news. I barely got there in time."

Sam moves closer to Dean. "What happened?"

"He's dead."

"Did . . . you?"

"No." Jamie gets up and moves over to Dean. He looks up at her and wraps an arm around her waist.

"No. But I'll tell you one, thing. If . . .the way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it. I mean, I don't know what to call it."

Jamie looks at him. "Hmm."

"What? Dean, what did you see?"

"Maybe . . . God's will."

Sam, Dean, and Jamie all look at each other before Dean looks away. Jamie moves to grab her bag. Sam slides over.


	8. 214 Born Under A Bad Sign

The Impala is parked in an underpass. Jamie and Dean are both there. Dean is on his cell phone, leaning against his car. He is fidgeting, clearly upset. Jamie is beside him on her cell phone. She looks like she hasn't slept in days and she's still wearing the clothes she had on when Dean pulled her from whatever she was hunting. It's evident by the fact that her t-shirt is torn and there's green slime on her jacket. She's on the phone with Bobby while Dean tries to reach Ellen. "Alright, thanks Bobby." She says into the phone and then hangs up. She frowns and looks at Dean, who also frowns.

"Ellen, it's me again. Any chance you've heard from him?" Dean pauses for a split second. "I swear, it's like looking for my dad all over again. I'm losing my mind here." Jamie takes a step towards him and puts her hand on his arm. "No, I've called him a thousand times, there's nothing but voicemail. I don't know where he went, or why. Sam's just gone." Jamie looks away. Dean's cell phone beeps. "Hang on." The phone shows another incoming call - SAM'S CELL.

Jamie turns towards Dean. "Sam?"

Dean nods. He answers it. "Sammy? Where the hell are you? Are you okay?" he pauses, Sam is nearly hysterical on the other end. "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Where are you? All right, don't move, we're on our way." He hangs up and looks at Jamie. His face is dark with worry. "He's really out of it, we've got to hurry."

Jamie nods, already heading over to the passenger side. "I'm right behind you." They get into the Impala and Dean screeches the tires as they tear out in Sam's direction.

Dean drives to reach Sam, passing a sign reading TWIN LAKES; he arrives at the hotel and parks, gets out. Jamie gets out beside him. "What do you think happened?" Jamie ask as they hurry inside.

"I don't know." Dean goes over to the hotel manager and asks for Sam's room number. Jamie squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, trying to will a number. "Jamie!" Dean grabs her.

"109." They say together. They stare at each other for a moment and then walk frantically down a narrow hallway, checking door numbers until they reaches room 109. Dean knocks.

"Sam, it's us. Sam!" He tries the door and surprisingly it's open. Inside, Sam looks like he hasn't moved in awhile, he's still, sitting numbly on a bed. "Sam? Hey."

Jamie starts to walk over to him. "Hey Bro."

He looks over at them. He's quiet and then greets them. "Hey, Dean. Jamie." They walk over to him. Jamie stops short, noticing Sam's hands. Dean kneels down beside him.

"Are you bleeding?" Dean asks.

Sam looks down. "I tried to wash it off."

Sam's shirt is covered in blood. Dean and Jamie both see it at the same time. Dean immediately gropes at it, searching for a wound.. "Oh my god."

Jamie's eyes widen with horror. "Jesus. I'll get the med kit, Dean." She turns away towards the door.

Sam turns slightly in her direction. "No. Wait. I don't think it's my blood."

Jamie moves back over to him. "What?"

Dean looks up at him. "Whose is it?"

"I don't know."

Dean and Jamie share a look. "Sam, what the hell happened?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Sam finally looks up. "Guys. I don't remember anything."

A while later Dean returns to the room, carrying a grocery bag. Jamie is sitting the bed cleaning her jacket. She's wearing a tank top and one of Dean's button down shirts. SAM has changed clothes too and is looking a little less out of it. Jamie gets up seeing Dean come in. "Thank God, I'm starving." She goes over to the table and looks in the bags. Sam turns to Dean.

"What'd you find out?"

Dean glances in his direction. "You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora. Of course, I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan."

Jamie punches Dean on the arm. "Don't knock Bon Jovi." He snickers and shoves her back lightly. She throws a chip at him and he laughs. Sam clears his throat.

"Dean."

Dean and Jamie look serious again, both turning to look at Sam. Dean walks over to him. "Your room's been quiet, nobody's noticed anything unusual."

Jamie puts a chip in her mouth.

Sam sighs. "You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?"

"Yeah. That's what I mean."

"Then how the hell did I get here, Dean? What happened to me?"

Dean turns away. Jamie puts the bag of chips down and looks at her oldest brother. He glances to her and then turns back to their brother. "I don't know. But you're, you're okay, and that's what matters. Everything else we can deal with." Jamie nods in agreement.

Sam isn't so convinced. "Oh really? 'Cause what if I hurt someone? Or worse?"

"Sam . . ." Dean starts to say.

"What if this is what Dad warned you about?"

"Sam." It's Jamie this time. She crosses her arms tightly over her chest. Dean puts his hands up. His voice is urgent.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, come on man, let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We've just got to treat this like, like any other job."

Jamie nods." Right. What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam sighs, sitting down. He looks at Dean. "Just me and you, just, in that motel room in West Texas, going out to grab some burgers, and... "

Dean cuts in. "West Texas? That was…" He looks at Jamie.

Jamie looks at him. "Over a week ago. We've been looking for him for a week."

Sam looks up at both of them. "That's it." Dean looks stunned. Jamie looks worried. "Next thing I knew I was sitting here. Bloody. Felt like I'd been asleep for a month."

Jamie sits down beside Sam. "Oh God."

Dean crosses his arms. "Okay. Retrace your steps. The manager said you left yesterday afternoon and he never saw you come back, so…Jamie come here. Do your…thing." Jamie gets up. She and Dean look at each other. Jamie sighs and closes her eyes. After a moment she turns towards the window and takes a few steps forward. Dean walks over to the window. He pulls back the curtain, and finds a bloody fingerprint on the window. Jamie opens her eyes. "Hey."

Sam Jamie and Dean walk outside the motel. It's daylight, but raining.

Dean turns to Sam. "Recognize anything?"

"Not really." They go towards a parking garage out back. "Wait."

Dean and Jamie look at each other. "What?"

"I think I was here."

"You remember?"

"Not really, it just feels familiar, you know?" Dean shrugs, goes to the nearest garage. Sam looks over to the second, points."Try that one."

Jamie looks at Sam. "Yeah."

Dean tugs on the padlock. "Okay."

"Wait."Sam digs in his pocket, frowning. He pulls out a key, gives Dean a significant look.

Dean opens the padlock with the key, raising his eyebrows at Sam.

Jamie puts her hand on her stomach. "There is a really bad feeling welding up in my gut guys."

Dean glances at her. "As long as it's not a headache." He pulls the garage door open to reveal a filthy, beat-up VW Beetle.

Jamie raises and eyebrow. "Really Sam?"

Dean smirks. Sarcastically. "Oh, please tell me you didn't steal this."

Sam fidgets. They go into the garage and open both doors of the car, Sam on the driver's side, Jamie and Dean on the other. Sam touches the wheel, shows them his stained finger."More blood."

Jamie nudges Dean and nods. "Not just there."

Dean points. "Sam. Back seat."

Sam reaches down, picks up a blood-stained knife that sticks to the floor of the backseat. He stares at it. "You think I used this on someone?"

Jamie raises an eyebrow.

Dean pauses. "I'm not thinking anything."

Sam looks around, rubs the knife handle off on the inside of his jacket. Jamie picks up a pack of cigarettes. "Guys."

Dean grabs them. "Okay now, this is disturbing. Come on, man, this couldn't have been you. Had to have been someone else, someone who," He sniffs the pack. "…smokes menthols."

Sam picks up something. "Here. Gas receipt. Few towns over."

Jamie looks at her brothers. "Let's go."

Sam, Jamie and Dean pull up in front of a small gas station.

"All right. Receipt's for ten gallons at pump number two. You getting any, uh, any goosebumps yet? God, this looks familiar, deja vu vibes?" Sam shakes his head quietly. "Maybe someone inside will remember you."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, let's go in."

They go into the convenience store; the clerk looks up in shock, then anger. "You. Outta here now, I'm calling the cops."

Jamie puts her hands up, steping in front of Sam. "Whoa, easy."

Dean looks at Sam and then at the clerk. "You talking to him?"

"Yeah, I'm talking to him. Jerk comes in yesterday, stinking drunk, grabs a forty from the fridge, starts chugging it."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "What?"

Dean makes a face. "This guy?" He turns to Sam. "You're drinking malt liquor?"

"Not after he whipped the friggin' bottle at my head."

"Huh?"Jamie looks at Sam in disbelief.

Dean shakes his head. "This guy?"

"What, am I speaking Urdu?"

Sam sighs looking bewildered. "Look, I'm really sorry if I did anything…"

"Tell your story walkin', pal. Po-po will be here in five."

Dean groans, trying to get control of the situation. "Wait, wait, put the phone down. Sam, go wait in the car."

"But Dean…"

"Go wait in the car!"

"Come on, Sam. Car, come on." Jamie grabs his arm and pulls him outside. They go and stand near the Impala. Sam looks at his sister.

"Jamie, I'm starting to get really freaked out."

Jamie looks up and leans against the car, crossing her arms. "I can't read you, Sam. It's kinda freaking me out too." She and Dean share a look through the window. "But Dean and I are gonna fix this."

Dean is driving down a dark road, and Sam is staring out the window. Jamie is leaning her head against the window in the backseat. Dean glances at Sam and then back at the road. "What's going on with you, Sam? Hm? 'Cause smoking, throwing bottles at people, I mean, that sounds more like me than you."

Jamie snickers. Sam doesn't answer. Instead he points something out.

"Dean, wait, right here. Turn down that road."

"What?"

"I don't know how I know, I just do."

"Do it, Dean."

Dean turns down a back road and onto a private property. It is a large house with plenty of emergency lighting and security cameras outside. Sam glances around, impressed. "Whoever lives here, I'd say they don't like surprises."

Jamie puts her hand on her stomach. "Oh there's that feeling again."

Dean looks back at her. "Maybe you're pregnant." Jamie throws her flashlight at him. He catches it and chuckles. "Should we knock?" He hands the flashlight back to Jamie.

Sam shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

Dean knocks on the front door while Sam and Jamie poke around the corner.

"Hey Dean." Sam waves his flashlight at a window; it is broken, the ledge covered in shattered glass.

"I'm surprised the cops didn't show. Place like this you'd think it'd have an alarm."

Jamie finds a disabled alarm on the wall. "Yeah, you would."

They go into the house; the floor is covered in broken glass and scattered items. In a back room, they come across a body on the floor. "Damnit." Jamie cusses. Dean glances then and then back to Sam.

"Get the lights."

Sam turns the lights on as Dean kneels behind the body. He places a hand on it and turns it over; it is a middle-aged man with a deeply cut throat; he is dead, his eyes staring. Dean puts a hand over his own mouth; Jamie gasps and steps back, Sam looks horrified.

"My god." Jamie mutters.

"I did this."

Jamie turns and looks at her twin. "Sammy…"

Dean shakes his head. "We don't know that."

Sam stares at him. "What else do you need? I mean, how else do you explain the car, the knife, the blood,"

"I don't know, man, why don't you tell me?" Dean pauses and then continues. "Look, even if you did do this I'm sure you had a good reason; you know, self-defense, uh, he was, he was a bad son of a bitch, something." He pats down the body. "He doesn't have any ID."

Sam is staring at the wall. "I need your lockpick."

"What?"

Jamie looks up. "Your lockpick." Sam takes the lockpick and opens a double-door closet in the room. Inside the room, one wall is covered in firearms, the others in charts and clippings. Dean and Jamie get up and move closer. "Now why does this look eerily familiar?"

Dean looks around. "Either this guy's a Unabomber…"

"Or a hunter. Dean, Jamie, I think I killed a hunter."

Dean sees a security camera near the ceiling. "Let's find out."

Later, Sam is sitting in front of the desktop computer, Jamie and Dean standing behind. He cues up the security tape.

"Here we go." Dean mutters. On the tape, Sam is fighting the same man who lies dead on the floor behind them. The fight moves off camera and Sam drags the man back into the frame; he kneels, the man pulled up against his legs, and slits his throat. Sam stares in shock, Jamie puts her fist in her mouth, Dean pulls back from the screen and stands straight. Close on Sam, eyes downcast.

Sam is sitting at the computer desk, staring at a page in his hand; Dean and Jamie bustle around behind him, cleaning up.

Dean moves to the computer. "How do you erase this? Huh? Sam, come on, I need your help."

Jamie moves Dean's hands out of the way. "I've got it, Dean." Jamie pulls the keyboard away from Sam and starts erasing the video.

"I killed him, Dean. I just broke in and killed him."

"Listen to me. Whoever this guy is, he's a hunter. Which means that other hunters are going to come looking for his killer, which means we've got to cover our tracks, okay?"

"Boys, we've got to hurry. They could realize he's missing any time now. And Winchesters aren't exactly beloved…"

"His name was Steve Wandell. This is a letter from his daughter." Dean looks from Sam to the letter, then at Jamie, and then makes a decision. He grabs the CPU, lifts it above his head, and smashes it to the floor, stomping it with his boots for good measure.

Jamie looks impressed. "Well that's one way to do it."

"Wipe your prints, then we go."

Jamie finishes wiping down the prints and the three of them go back to the motel room. They're quiet during the drive. Sam precedes Jamie and Dean into the motel room.

Dean looks around, trying to stay calm. "All right, we get a couple hours sleep and then we put this place in our rearview mirror. Look, I know this is bad, okay? You've gotta snap out of it. Sam, say something!"

"Just get some sleep and leave in the morning? Murder, Dean. That's what I did."

Jamie moves out from behind Dean. "Sam, you don't know that."

Sam scoffs. Dean raises an eyebrow. "Dean: Okay? Hey, we don't know... shapeshifter!"

Sam shakes his head. "Oh, come on. You know it wasn't, you saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion."

Jamie narrows her eyes. "So it's something else then!"

"Yeah," Dean agrees. "But it wasn't you! All right? I mean, yeah, it might have been you, but it wasn't you."

"Well, I think it was." He sits down on the bed. "I think maybe more than you know."

"Sam…"Jamie sits down beside him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asks.

"For the last few weeks I've been having... I've been having these feelings."

"What feelings?"

"Rage. Hate. And I can't stop it. It just gets worse. Day by day it gets worse."

Jamie takes one of Sam's hands in hers. She looks over at Dean.

"You never told me this."

"I didn't want to scare you."

"Well, bang-up job on that."

"Dean…"

"Dean, the yellow-eyed demon, you know he has plans for me. And we all know that he's turned other children into killers before, too."

Dean sighs. "No one can control you but you."

"It sure doesn't seem like that, Dean, it feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely I'm, I'm just becoming..."

"What?"

Sam looks him square in the eye. "Who I'm meant to be."

Jamie squeezes his hand. "Sam, that's crazy. This is not who you're meant to be."

"Isn't it though Jamie? Besides, you and I are different. You're the one who got away. And Dean, you said it once yourself. I gotta face up to who I am."

"I didn't mean this!" Dean practically shouts in his face. Jamie flinches.

"But it's still true. You know that. Dad knew that too, that's why he told you, if it ever came to this . . ."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. No way."

"Shut up, Sam."

"Dean, you promised him. You promised Jamie. You promised me."

"No. Listen to me. We're going to figure this out. Okay? I mean, there's got to be a way, right?"

"Right. Whatever is going on, we'll hunt it, kill it."

"See, you just need Jamie's attitude and we'll find a way."

"Yeah, there is a way." Sam gets up and takes a handgun from his duffel, shoves it at Dean. "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt Jamie."

Jamie gets up. "Sam. No."

"You won't. Whatever this is, you can fight it."

Sam starts tearing up. "No. I can't. Not forever. Here, you gotta do it."

"No. No. Come on. Dean, you can't." Jamie stands in front of them. They all stare at each other for a long moment; then Sam grabs Dean's right hand and places the gun in it. Dean doesn't move, just stares as Sam in shock. Jamie starts tearing up.

"You know, I've tried to hard to keep you safe."

Jamie lets out a sob. "Dean."

Sam nods. "I know."

Dean looks down at the gun and then back at his brother. "I can't." Dean drops the gun on the bed and shoulders past Sam. Sam looks at Jamie and picks up the gun.

"Jamie, please."

"You're my brother. My twin."

"Then as my twin, please do this for me. Please. You have to." Sam puts the gun into her hand.

Jamie looks down at the gun in her hand. She looks up at Sam. "Jamie: No. I can't."

"You can. You understand. You can feel." Jamie raises her hand, gun pointed towards Sam. Her hand is shaking violently.

Dean looks over at them. "Jamie…Jamie you can't be serious."

Jamie looks at the gun and slowly lowers her arm. "I can't do it."

"Jamie…"

"I mean I can't go against Dean." She stares at Sam and then turns to Dean. "I won't go against you." She gives the gun to Dean who looks down at it and then gives it back to Sam.

Dean turns away. "I'd rather die."

"No. You'll live." Dean turns to face him. "You'll live to regret this."

He pistol-whips Dean, who falls to the floor unconscious. "Dean!" Jamie yells in shock. Sam turns to her. She brings her hand up to fling him back but he clocks her on the side of the head and she falls down unconscious as well.

An insistent knocking begins even though Dean and Jamie are still blacked out. Dean awakens to realize that he is on the floor of the motel room. Jamie groans and sits up. Dean looks at her as the motel manager, who has been knocking, opens the door.

"Hey. It's past your checkout."

Dean gets up, very groggy. "What?"

Dean helps Jamie up. She holds her head.

"It's past checkout, and I've got a couple here needs your room."

Dean sees an embarrassed businessman with a hooker. "Yeah, I'll bet they do. What time is it?"

"Twelve-thirty."

Jamie puts her head in her hands. "Ugh. Well I've got that headache now."

Dean turns to the manager. "That guy who was with us, have you seen him?"

"Yeah, he left before dawn in your car, and you should have gone with him, because now I'm going to have to charge you extra."

Jamie rolls her eyes. Dean mutters to himself. "Oh, son of a..."

Jamie scoffs. "You can say that again."

"It's just policy, sir."

"I need to use your computer."

The manager looks at Dean and Jamie, a little stunned.

"Now, why would I let you use my computer?"

The Manger is counting a stack of cash, as Dean talks on the phone behind him, in front of a desktop computer. Jamie in standing behind him, leaning against the counter. "Hi, uh, so sorry to bother you, but uh, my son snuck out of the house last night and, uh, went to a Justin Timberlake concert." He pauses. "What? Yeah. No, Justin is quite the triple threat." Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Uh, anyway, he's not back yet, and, and I'm just, I'm starting to worry." He pauses again. Jamie shifts. "Right. Yeah, boys will be boys. But see, Sammy is…" He looks at Jamie for help.

"Diabetic." Jamie mouths.

"A diabetic and uh, if he doesn't get his insulin, I just, I have to find him. Please, I'm begging you. Yeah, no, no, no, I"m on the web site right now, I just need to activate the GDS in his cell phone." He enters the password. "Yeah, right there. Duluth, Minnesota. Yeah, that is a long way to go for a concert. I appreciate your help."

Jamie moves her hair out of her face. "What the hell is he doing in Minnesota?"

"I don't know, but we're gonna find out."

"Oh have I got hard-cover book with his name on it."

Dean parks the Impala and he and Jamie get out. Jamie props open the trunk and grabs a few things. Dean waits, leaning against the door. She hands something to him and then gets out her handgun. Dean gets his out. They share a look and Jamie starts for the bar. Dean grabs her arm.

"Wait." She turns to him. "Did you mean it? That you can't shoot Sam as long as it's against my wishes."

"Yes." She answers softly, averting her eyes.

"You can kill him. Just like that. Your own brother. Your twin." Jamie doesn't say anything. "That's what I thought."

"I'd do it if I had to, Dean." She pulls her arm away from him and starts walking. She stops, wiping her eyes. "But you have to be dead first. Because I know you will never let anything happen to him."

"You are just like Dad."

"Shut up."

They bust the door open and walk in guns out. They see Sam with Jo tied to a pillar.

"Sam!" Dean yells.

Jamie clicks off the safety. "Get away from her!"

Sam grabs the knife from the pillar, his calm expression shifting to one of desperate panic, and places the knife at Jo's throat. "I begged you to stop me."

"Put the knife down, damnit."

"Please, Sammy." Jamie begs.

"I told you I can't fight it! My head feels like it's on fire, all right?! Dean. Jamie. Kill me, or I'm going to kill her. Please. You've be doing me a favor! Shoot me." He turns to face his siblings, arms spread. "Shoot me!"

Jamie curses. "Damnit. Sam."

"No, Sammy, come on." Dean turns away, lowering the gun. Jamie keeps her raised, as though she's considering it but Dean grabs her arm. Jamie lowers her gun.

"What the hell's wrong with you, two? Are you that scared of losing me that you'd rather let Jo die?"

Dean turns suddenly, flinging water from a flask at Sam; the water hisses and steams as it strikes him. "That's holy water, you demonic son of a bitch!"

Jamie nods. "Get the hell out my brother!"

Sam raises his head; his eyes are the solid black of a demon's. Jamie flings more holy water at him; Sam growls, turns and runs, bursting through a window and fleeing. Jamie runs after him and looks down the window. Dean takes the knife and cuts Jo free; Jo pulls the gag out of her mouth as Dean runs towards the shattered window.

"He was possessed?!" Jo asks. Dean turns and stares at her for a moment, then looks at Jamie. Jamie nods. Dean leaps through the window. "Dean! Jamie, what's going on?"

"We're going to get our brother back." Jamie leaps through the window.

Dean and Jamie and Sam stalk each other through a dim, crowded warehouse, all with a handgun. They all hide stealthily behind piles and boxes, Sam never sees Dean and Jamie, and Dean and Jamie never see him. Instead they shout at each other.

"So who are you?" Dean yells.

"I got lots of names." Sam answers.

"Oh yeah, any of them I'm familiar with?" Jamie asks.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"You've been in Sam since he disappeared, haven't you?"

"You should have seen your face when you thought he murdered that guy. Pathetic."

Jamie growls. "Wait till I get my hands on you. I'm gonna exorcize you back to hell, asshole."

"I'm sure you will Jamie, I'm sure you will."

"Why didn't you kill us? You had a dozen chances." Dean asks as he creeps closer, Jamie following him.

"No, that would have been too easy. Where's the fun in that? See, this was a test. Wanted to see if I could push you far enough to waste Sam. Should have known you wouldn't have the sac. But Jamie. Jamie, I expected more from you. Afterall you were the one screaming for Sam to shoot Daddy."

Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie's face is flushed with anger. "Shut up! Shut the hell up!" Dean squeezes her shoulder.

Sam chuckles. "Anyway. Fun's over now."

"Well, I hope you got your kicks. Because you're gonna pay hell for this, I'm gonna make sure of that."

"How? You can't hurt me. Not without hurting your little brother. See, I think you're gonna die, Dean. You, and Jamie, and every other hunter I can find. One look as Sam's dewey, sensitive eyes? They'll let me right in their door. "

Sam leads Dean and Jamie outside, to an open-air dock. Jamie stays close to Dean. Once Dean and Jamie are out in the open, looking around, Sam steps out behind them, takes aim, and shoots Dean, hitting him in the shoulder. Dean collapses into the water with a splash.

"Dean!" Jamie looks at Sam who points his gun towards her. This time Jamie is faster, she eyes the gun and it flies out of Sam's hand. She throws herself into the water. Sam stalks to the edge and peers over where his siblings fell; he smiles.

Jamie can feel when Sam's eyes are no longer on them. She comes up quickly for air and then dives back under, searching for Dean. The water is black and she can barely see. "Dean?" She calls coming up for air again.

"Jace." She hears him call her nickname and then disappear again. She dives under and swims over to him. She pulls him up to the surface and then drags him over to the dock. "Jace." They both collapse on the dock and Dean goes unconscious. Jamie shivers and then coughs.

Jo is walking quickly through the docks, a flashlight in one hand and her cell phone in the other; she's calling Dean, and his voicemail picks up: "This is Dean. Leave a message." Jo hangs up the phone with a sigh and continues searching. Moments later she calls again, and this time hears Dean's ringtone coming from below her, by the water. She runs down to where he is lying unconscious at the bottom of a ramp. Jamie is beside him, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Jamie! Dean! Dean!" Dean wakes with a groan. "Take it easy."

Jamie growls and strikes the dock with her fist. "Damnit. Damnit. Damnit!"

Dean shudders and groans in pain. "Where's Sam?"

"He's gone." Jamie answers looking over at her brother.

"I've been looking for you two. Come on, get up." Jo helps Jamie stand up and they both help Dean to stand. Jamie wraps Dean's good arm around his shoulders and he leans on her heavily, clutching his shoulder. Jo holds him around the waist as they walk back to the bar.

"Jo, our med kit is in the trunk. Go get it." Jamie tells her. Jo nods and hurries out as Jamie helps Dean sit down against a table. Dean groans. Jamie grabs his face in her hands and makes him look at her. She reaches down and pulls off his outer shirt, hitching up the sleeve on the injured arm. Jo comes back with the med kit and with her own as well. She puts it on the table beside Jamie. Jamie is taking off her jacket and rolling up the sleeves of her t-shirt. "Thanks. What do you have for hard liquor?"

"What do you want?" She stares at Dean.

A few minutes later Dean is seated at the table, gripping the edge with his right hand as Jamie digs the bullet out of his left shoulder. Jo is standing beside Jamie holding a flashlight. Dean's groaning loudly.

"Don't be a baby!" Jo remarks.

"God!"

Jamie looks up at her brother. "Don't move, I've almost got it. Alright. Alright. Got it." She drops the bloodstained bullet in a glass of clear alcohol. Dean takes a few healthy swigs from a bottle of whiskey. Jo gets fresh bandages and hands them to Jamie.

"God, you're a butcher." Dean remarks looking at his arm.

"Yeah? I'll remember that the next time you patch me up." Jamie gets up and cleans her hands off with a rag. Jo sits down and starts bandaging Dean's shoulder.

"All right, are we done?"

"Would you give me two minutes to patch you up? We can't help Sam if you're bleeding to death." she continues layering gauze and tape over the wound. "So, how did you know? That he was possessed?"

Jamie grabs a beer and opens it, taking a drink. "He didn't. I did, or at least I suspected it."

Dean looks over at her. "Yeah you could have let me in on the whole psychic warning signs."

"Sam can block our twin thing inadvertently; I've told you that before. Besides, you didn't need me to tell you something was wrong with him."

"I just knew that it couldn't have been him."

"Hey, Dean?" Jo asks.

"Yeah?"

"I know demons lie, but do they ever tell the truth too?"

Jamie and Dean look at each other. "Uh, um, yeah, sometimes, I guess. Especially if they know it'll mess with your head. Why do you ask?"

Jamie moves back over to them. "She's wondering about her dad."

"He say something to you?"

"It's nothing. Doesn't matter. So do you have any idea where he's headed to next?"

"Well, so far he's been going after the nearest hunter, so . . . closest one I know lives in South Dakota."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Bobby….shit, Andrew!" Jamie runs over to a table and grabs her phone.

"Okay good, I'm done. Let's go." Jo says, glancing at Jamie.

"Yeah. You're not coming."

"The hell I'm not. I'm a part of this now."

"I can't say it more plain than this. You try to follow me and I'll tie you right back to that post and leave you here. This is my fight. I'm not getting your blood on my hands. That's just how it's gonna be. Jamie, come on, you can call your boyfriend in the car."

"Not funny." Jamie picks up Dean's jacket and hands it over to him. "I'm driving." She grabs the med kit and puts it under her arm.

"Like hell."

Jamie jingles Dean's keys in front of him and heads to the door.

"Wait." He turns back, and Jo hands out a prescription pill bottle. "Here. Take these, they'll help with the pain."

"Thanks. I'll call you later, okay?"

He heads back over to Jamie, who blows the door open and walks out ahead of him.

It's raining as Jamie drives down a dark stretch of road. Dean dials a number on his cell. It rings and then goes dead. "Damnit." He looks at his phone and sighs. Jamie shakes her head.

"Son of a bitch."

Sam is tied to a chair, before a fire and under the very same protective circle used on Meg when Dean and Jamie finally get to Bobby's.

"Took you long enough." Bobby remarks. Jamie smirks, watching Dean walk over to Sam. Dean smacks Sam in the face to wake him.

"Hey."

Sam looks up, sees the painted Devil's Trap. Jamie walks into view with Bobby whose holding a book.

"Dean. Back from the dead. Getting to be a regular thing for you, isn't it? Like a cockroach."

"How about I smack that smartass right out of your mouth?"

Jamie takes the book from Bobby. "If you don't, I will."

"Oh, careful, now. Wouldn't want to bruise this fine packaging."

"Oh don't worry, this isn't gonna hurt Sam much." He turns to pick up a bucket. "You, on the other hand," Dean tosses a bucketful of holy water on Sam, who sizzles and screams. "Feel like talking now?"

"Sam's still my meat puppet. I'll make him bite off his tongue."

"No, you won't be in him long enough."

Dean looks behind him at Jamie. Jamie opens the book. "I told you I was going to exorcize your ass back to hell." She finds the right page and begins to read. "Exorcisamus te, omnes immundus spiritus  
omnes satanica potestas, omnes incursio…"

Dean talks over Jamie. "See, whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up? You're not getting Sam. You understand me? Because I'm gonna kill every one of you first."

Sam struggles painfully, then throws back his head and cackles. Jamie cuts off in surprise.

"You really think that's what this is about? The master plan? I don't give a rat's ass about the master plan."

Dean nods to Jamie and she starts reading again.

"Humiliares sub potente magnu dei..".

Sam smirks. "Oops. Doesn't seem to be working. See, I learned a few new tricks." He lowers his head "Spiritus in mundus un glorum suarum umitite palatum iram domine ..._" T_he fire behind him flares and the room shakes as he continues.

Dean looks shock and turns to Jamie. "Jamie, this isn't going like I pictured! What is going on?"

Jamie glances at Sam and sees the burn mark on SAM'S forearm. "It's a binding link! It's like a lock! He's locked himself inside Sam's body!"

"What the hell do we do?"

"I don't know!"

Sam throws back his head and screams; the shaking walls and ceilings begin to crack. Dean grabs for Jamie.

"Christ, Dean!"

"Jamie get back!"

The protective circle breaks. SAM's eyes are black as he lowers his head. Jamie squares her shoulders. "Sancte Michael archangele defende nos in praelio contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium…"

"There. That's better." He jerks his head left; Bobby and Jamie go flying. He jerks his head right; Dean goes flying, landing heavily against the far wall. The holy water flask falls from Dean's hand. Sam rips free of the restraints and stalks over to Dean. "You know when people want to describe the worse possible thing? They say it's like hell." Sam kneels in front of Dean, fisting his left hand in Dean's shirt and clocking him hard with a right jab. Dean grabs onto Sam's shirt with his right hand. "You know there's a reason for that. Hell is like, um," he hits Dean again. "Well, it's like hell. Even for demons." He hits him again; Dean is groggy and bleeding heavily from his nose. "It's a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear;" He hits him yet again; then grabs Dean's head, holding it steady. "And you sent me back there."

"Meg." Dean sneers.

"No. Not anymore. Now I'm Sam." He hits him one last time; then digs his right thumb into Dean's bullet wound. "By the way. I saw your Dad there, he says "howdy." he digs in further; Dean tries to pull Sam's hand away, groaning in pain. "All that I had to hold onto was that I would climb out one day, and that I was going to torture you, nice and slow. Like pulling the wings off an insect." He shoves Dean's grasping hand away. "But whatever I do to you, it's nothing compared to what you'll do to yourself, is it? I can see it in your eyes, Dean. You're worthless. You couldn't save your Dad, you won't be able to save your sister, and deep down you know that you can't save your brother. They'd have been better off without you."

Sam rears back to hit Dean again; Jamie moves into view and waves her hand, sending Sam flying back. Bobby grabs Sam's arms. Jamie presses a hot poker into the mark on Sam's arm; he screams in pain.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te. cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum , Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei,contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine,quem inferi tremunt.  
Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursion infernalis adversarii,omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te. Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." Jamie chants. Sam screams again as black demon smoke billows out of him and up the chimney. Sam falls back, scrabbling and looking around in confusion, then grabs his arm in sudden pain. Jamie slides down beside them. "Sam!"

Dean pulls himself up painfully. "Sammy?"

"Did I miss anything?"

Dean looks at Jamie. She nods. "He's back."

Dean rears back and right-hooks Sam in the cheek, then rolls his eyes and collapses in Jamie's arms. Samgrabs his cheek in confusion. Jamie looks down at Dean and then at Sam. "And you wonder why I don't stick around long."

Sam is sitting behind Bobby's table with an icepack on his arm, Dean is on the other side of the table groggily holding an icebag to his face. Jamie is holding a washcloth to her forehead.

"By the way, you really look like crap, Dean." Sam says, cautiously.

"Yeah, right back atcha."

Jamie nods. "And I feel like crap so we're all even."

Bobby walks in slowly, looking concerned.

Sam looks at him. "What is it, Bobby?"

Jamie looks up. "What's wrong?"

"You three ever hear of a hunter named Steve Wandell?"

Dean turns. "Why do you ask?"

"Just heard from a friend. Wandell's dead. Murdered in his own house. You wouldn't know anything about that."

Jamie shakes her head. "Doesn't ring a bell to me."

Dean nods. "No sir, never heard of the guy."

"Dean. Jamie." Sam says quietly.

Bobby nods. "Good. Keep it that way. Wandell's buddies are looking for someone or something to string up, and they're not going to slow down to listen to reason. You understand what I'm saying?"

Dean gets up. "We'd better hit the road. If, uh, either of you can remember where we parked the car."

Jamie snickers. "I know where it is, but I can barely see with this damn migraine."

"Here. Take these." Bobby hands each of them a small metal charm.

Jamie looks down at it. "Bobby are these what I think they are?"

"What are they?" Sam asks.

"Charms. They'll fend off possession. That demon's still out there; this'll stop it from getting back up in you." Bobby explains.

Jamie snickers softly. She takes the washcloth off her head and gets up.

"That sounds vaguely dirty, but uh, thanks." Dean mutters.

"You're welcome. You three be careful now."

"You too."

"Love ya, Bobby. Oh and if you hear from Andrew, tell him to call me."

They all head for the door. Jamie blows it open and she and Sam step out. Dean pauses and turns, tossing the icebag back to Bobby.

Dean is driving down a dark stretch of highway; over the following scene, REO Speedwagon's "Back on the Road Again" plays. Sam is frowning quietly, and Dean glances over in concern. Jamie leans in from the backseat. "Sam?"

"You okay? Sam? Is that you in there?"

"I was awake for some of it, guys. I watched myself kill Wandell with my own two hands; I saw the light go out in his eyes."

Jamie sighs. "Oh Sammy." She wraps her arms around him.

"That must have been awful."

"That's not my point. I almost carved up Jo too. But no matter what I did, you two wouldn't shoot."

"We didn't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"It was the right move, Sam, it wasn't you."

"Yeah, this time. What about next time?"

"Sam, when Dad told me that I might have to kill you, it was only if I couldn't save you. Now, if it's the last thing I do I'm going to save you."

Jamie smirks. "And if it's any consolation, after Dean kills himself trying to save you, I'll shoot you." Sam almost smirks a little, looking back at his sister.

Dean nods. "That's right." After a pause, he laughs softly.

"What?" Sam asks.

"Nothing."

"Dean…"

"Dean, what?"

"Dude, you, you like, full-on had a girl inside you for like a whole week." He laughs. "That's pretty naughty."

"Dean…I'm going to sleep." Jamie throws herself down in the backseat. Sam's frown cracks, and he laughs with Dean. After a minute, they hear Jamie laughing as well.


	9. 220 What Is and What Should Never Be

Jamie blows the motel door closed and grabs unto Andrew's shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. He smirks and kisses her back, tearing her jacket off and picking her up. He walks over to the bed and lays her on it as he kisses her neck. Jamie's phone starts vibrating on the bedside table. She turns. Andrew groans in annoyance and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Sam. Is Jamie there?"

Andrew glances over to Jamie, whose gotten up and poured herself a glass of tequila.

"Hey Sammy. Look, I know, I know you need help on this hunt. Jace and I almost have the thing nabbed; we should be up in the morning."

"I think you need to make it sooner than the morning."

Jamie drops her glass and it falls to the floor where it shatters. Andrew lowers the phone and looks across the room at her. "Give me the phone." She gets up and goes over to her boyfriend, taking the phone from him. "Sam? I just…I just had a vision. Did Dean go off by himself?"

"Yeah he did. I have a really bad feeling."

"He's in trouble. I'm on my way. Meet me in an hour." She grabs her jacket and her handgun as she hangs up the phone. "AJ, can you call Aaron and finish up here?"

"Yeah. Yeah of course. I'll call you when we get the thing." Andrew says, sighing reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I am. But Dean is in trouble and I have to go."

"Yeah." He nods as she opens the door to their motel room and grabs her bag. "Jace?" Jamie looks back at him. He tosses her the keys to her truck. "Be careful."

"Dean, you're drunk. You're drunkdialing me."

Dean stared into his phone. "I'm not drunk. Quit screwing around! If you don't believe me give the phone to Jamie." He sighed, hoping his little sister was less hardheaded at this hour.

Sam only replied in surprise. "Jamie?"

"Yeah." Dean paused. He could have swore Sammy had insisted on calling their sister. "Isn't she with you?"

"Look, it's late. Alright, just get some sleep and I'll.. see you tomorrow. Ok?"

"Wait, Sam! Sam!" Dean sighs and then dials Jamie's number. The voicemail picks up.

"You've reached Jamie Winchester; I cannot come to the phone right now. If you have a medical emergency please contact your local-"

Dean hangs up and stares at the phone.

"This is Jace. I'm out at the moment, but if you have an emergency-"

Sam sighs and hangs up the phone. He stares at it, and a second later Jamie storms into the motel room, looking exhausted. "Hey." Sam gets off the bed and walks over to her.

"Hey." She rubs her eyes. "We don't have time, we've gotta find Dean. Tell you know where he was heading."

Dean picks up a picture of John and Mary smiling with Dean, Jamie, and Sam as little kids in front of them. "…I guess I was wrong." He glances at all the pictures on the shelf. Dean in a cap, looking cool into the camera. Jamie with Andrew, both looking tired and wearing scrubs. Another picture of Dean and his promdate, clearly taken at prom. Another of Sam as a graduate. Dean picks up another picture. It's in black and white and shows John, dressed in baseball clothers with a cap and a baseball bat in his hand, ready to swing, smiling at the camera.

Jamie and Sam are in Jamie's truck and Sam is driving. Jamie is flipping through John's journal. She comes across a picture of John sitting in a chair, holding a shotgun. She sighs and tucks it away.

Dean moves over to the couch and sees a picture of Sam as a graduate with Mary and John smiling proudly next to him. Next to it is a picture of Jamie and Andrew, and there's a baby in Jamie's arms.

Sam turns to Jamie. "We'll find him, Jamie. We're not going to lose him."

Jamie closes her eyes and leans against the door of the truck.

Dean hangs up his phone, unable to get Sam and dials a different number. "Hello?"

"Jamie?"

"Dean? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Where are you?"

"Uh…home."

"Oh, right, right. Uh…how's AJ?"

"Andrew? He's fine. Dean, are you in trouble or something?"

"What, no, no. Can't a big brother check up on his little sister?"

"I guess…um, look I'd really love to catch up but I have to get Mark ready for daycare and get to work. I'll see you tonight, alright?"

"Right. Okay."

Jamie wakes with a start and stares at her phone. Sam looks over at her and frowns. "Are you okay?"

"No." She closes her eyes again but opens them almost as quickly. "I've hunted Djinn before…I've seen their victims."

Sam glances at the room and then reaches over and holds Jamie's hand. "Hey. Hey, stop, okay? We're almost there." Jamie nods.

Dean is sitting on the steps to the front porch, drinking a beer, feeling happy about his work on the lawn. A car drives up outside the yard. "I don't believe it." He says to himself. He gets up to go greet Sam and Jessica who's getting out of the car. Dean attacks Jessica with a hug while Sam takes out the luggage from the trunk. "Jessica."

"You're uh... Good to see you too, Dean." Dean laughs. "Can't breathe." He lets go.

"Sammy."

"Hay."

Dean grins. "Look at you. You're with Jessica, it's- I don't believe it." He laughs.

"Yeah."

"Where'd you guys come from?"

"We just flew in from.. Califor-"

"California! Standford. Huh? Lawschool, I bet."

Sam motions to the beer in Dean's hand. "I see you started of mom's birthday with a bang as usual."

"Wait. Mom's birthday, that's today?"

"Yeah. Yeah, Dean. That's today. That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot."

"Wha..."

Another car pulls up. Jamie and Andrew get out. Andrew is dressed in scrubs, and Jamie is wearing a suit. Andrew gets a bag out of the backseat while Jamie unbuckles a little dark haired boy from his carseat. Jamie turns around with him. Jessica grins. "Jamie! Hey." Sam and Jess go over to them. Jamie hands the boy to Jessica. "Hi Mark. Oh you get so much bigger every time I see you."

Sam and Jamie hug. "Came right from the hospital, huh?" Sam gestures to their attire.

Andrew nods. "Yeah, long day. Twenty car pile-up. I'm going to go in and change, honey."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"How was class, Jamie?" Sam asks. Dean finally walks over to them.

Andrew pats his shoulder as he walks by. "Hey Dean, good to see you."

"You too."

Jamie looks past Sam and sees Dean. They hug.

Dean looks down at the baby, Mark. He's taken back for a minute and then grins. "Can I hold him?"

"Uh…sure." Jess hands Mark over to Dean. "Wow. Normally you don't want to hold him."

"What? That's crazy."

Jess smiles after a minute. "Jamie, so look at you. Starting your, what 3rd year of Medical school?"

"Second, but I wish."

Dean looks over at them. "Second year of medical school? Really? You must be exhausted with the baby. Come on." He holds Mark on his hip and grabs his sister's arm with his other hand. Jamie, Jess, and Sam all give him a look as he leads Jamie into the house.

Later they're all sitting at a round table in a fancy restaurant. Dean gets served a plate. "Wow, that... looks awesome."

Sam picks up his glass. "Alright. To mom." He raises his glass. "Happy birthday."

Jess nods. "Happy birthday."

Andrew grins. "Happy Birthday, Mom."

"Thank you."

They all click their glasses in a cheer.

Dean grins. "To mom."

Jamie clicks her glass with Dean. "Here, here." As Dean watches, Sam and Jess kiss. Andrew rubs Jamie's shoulder, and she grabs his hand. He smiles.

Sam parks Jamie truck and they get out. Sam sees Jamie's handgun tucked into the back of her jeans. "Knives, not guns." Sam reminds her.

"I know." She takes the gun out and puts it in the glove department. She reached under the seat and pulls out a knife. She and Sam share a look before walking into the warehouse.

Dean, Sam and Jamie are taking in the living room.

Sam turns to Dean. "What's gotten into you?"

"What do you mean?"

Jamie stands between them. "He means you're kind of…"

Sam cuts her off. "I mean this whole warm, fuzzy ecstasy trip thing."

"I'm just happy for you, guys. For you Sammy."

"Yeah, right. That's another thing. Since when do you call me Sammy?" He pauses. "Dean, come on. We don't talk outside of holidays."

"And you're never this nice to any of us. Except once and awhile when you're drunk."

Dean looks shocked. "We don't? I'm not. Well, we should, I should. I mean, I'm your brother."

Sam repeats his last line. "I'm your brother"?

Dean tries to laugh it off. "Yeah."

Sam and Jamie look at each other.

"You know, that's what you said when you snaked my ATM card."

"And took that hundred from my purse."

"And when you bailed on my graduation."

"And got drunk and fell down the stairs the night Mark was born."

"And when you hooked up with Rachel Nave."

"Who?"

"Uh, my prom date." Sam looks sheepish. "On prom night."

Dean relents a little. "Yeah, that does kinda sound like me. Woh, hay, I'm sorry about all that." He walks towards Sam and Jamie.

Sam backs away. "No that, look, that's alright man, I-I just.. You know I'm not asking you to change. I-I just I.. I don't know…"

Jamie nods. "Yeah… I.. guess we just don't really have anything in know?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

SAM and Jamie start to walk away.

"Woah woah woah woah. Yes we do. Yes we do." Dean laughs.

"What?"

"Hunting."

"What?"

"Hunting? I've never been hunting in my life, Dean. Neither has Jamie."

"Yeah, well. We should go at it sometime. I... I think you'd be great at it. You too Jamie."

Sam starts to walk away again. Jamie follows him.

Sam turns around. "Get some rest."

Jamie nods. "I'll see you later, maybe."

Jamie and Sam enter the warehouse and Jamie closes her eyes. Sam looks around and then moves closer to her. "Anything?" He whispers.

"That way." Jamie nods down a dark hallway. "We have to hurry or we'll be too late."

Dean is standing by John's grave. It reads: "JOHN E. WINCHESTER 1954-2006 LOVING HUSBAND & FATHER REMEMBERED FOREVER"

Dean looks down. "All of them. Everyone that you saved, everyone Jamie saved, and Sammy and I saved. They're all dead. And there's this woman that's haunting me. I don't know why. I don't know what the connection is, not yet anyway. It's like my old life is coming after me or something. Like it like it doesn't want me to be happy. Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball but.. So go hunt the Djinn. He put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right? But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?" He begins to cry while talking. "What about us, huh? Mom's not supposed to live her life. Sammy's not supposed to get married. Jamie's not supposed to have kids. Why do we have to sacrifice everything, dad?" he pauses "It's.." The sky rumbles. Tears begin to falls on Dean's face. "Yeah." He turns around and walks away.

Sam is walking down the hallway with Jamie behind him. Jamie whispers quietly. "Dad, please, please help us get to him in time. Don't let it be too late."

Dean is sitting in the Impala, engine going, thinking. Suddenly the passanger door opens and Sam gets in the car.

"Get out of the car."

"I'm going with you."

"You're just gonna slow me down."

"Tough."

Jamie opens the backdoor.

"Jamie? What are you doing here?"

"Sam said you needed our help."

"This is dangerous and you could get hurt."

Sam cuts in. "Yeah, and so could you Dean."

"Sam!"

Sam stares at him. "Look, whatever stupid thing you're about to do, you're not doing it alone. And that's that."

Jamie nods. "Agreed."

"I don't understand. Why you doing this?"

Sam sighs. "Because you're still our brother."

"And we've got your back."

Dean snickers. "Bitch."

Sam looks confused. "What are you calling me a bitch for?"

"You're supposed to say jerk."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Boys…"

Dean glances back at Jamie and catches her eyes. They stare at each other for a few seconds. "Well at least that's still the same." He puts the Impala in gear and they drive off.

Sam looks down on a bag on the seat between them. What's in the bag?"

Dean doesn't look at him. "Nothin'."

"Nothin'?"

"Yeah, nothin'"

Sam shakes his head. "Fine." He grabs the bag and begins to open it.

"You don't wanna do that."

"Oh really?" He takes out what was in the bag. It's a container of blood. "What the hell is this?"

"Let me see that." Jamie takes the container. "This is blood!"

"Yeah."

Sam looks upset. "What the hell is it doing in here?"

"You don't really wanna know."

" No I-I do really wanna know. I really, really, do."

Jamie looks her brother. "Dean…"

Dean considers for a minute. "Yeah, well you're gonna find out sooner or later. I needed a silver knife dipped in lambs blood."

"You needed a silver knife dipped in lambs blood, why?"

"Because there's this creature. A Djinn. And I have to hunt it."

Sam tries to remain calm. "Ok. Uhm.. stop the car."

Jamie grabs Sam's shoulder. "Wait a minute."

Dean glances at them. "I know how it sounds."

"Great. Just.. stop the car."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, Sam…I remember reading something in my world religions class. Dean…Sam let him explain."

Dean glances back at his sister. "Thanks Jamie. It's the truth, Sam. Alright, there are things out there in the dark. There there there are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved and if we don't save them, then nobody will."

Sam isn't buying it. "Look, I wanna help you, alright. I-I really really do, but you're having some kind of psychotic breakdown so.. just-"

" I wish."

"Sam…I don't think he's having a breakdown."

" What?"

"I see people like that all day, Sam, trust me."

"Jamie? You're both nuts."

Sam picks up his phone and starts dialing a number. Jamie grabs Sam's phone. Dean rolls down his window, takes the phone from Jamie and throws it out and then rolls it up again.

"What the hell was that? That was my phone!"

"I'm not going to a rubberroom, Sammy."

Jamie looks frustrated. "For once in your life Sam listen to me when I tell you something."

Dean nods. "We've got work to do."

"What? I was just trying to help you out, Dean. I don't I don't want you to get yourself hurt."

"What? You protect me?"

"Yeah!"

Dean laughs. "That's hilarious. Why don't you just sit tight and try not to get the three of us killed."

Sam starts to say something. Jamie interrupts him. "Just shut up, Sammy."

Dean starts the radio and music blares out.

The Impala drives up between the buildings. The car stops but the music is still blaring. Dean looks over at Sam who is asleep. He picks up his flashlight and shines it on Sam's face. Sam wakes with a start.

"Where are we?"

In the backseat Jamie wakes up and yawns.

"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore." he smiles at Sam. Sam doesn't have a reaction and Dean stops smiling. "Illinois."

"And you think something's in there?"

"I know it is."

Dean, Jamie and Sam walk into the hallway, flashlights in hand.

Sam looks around. "See? There's nothing here, Dean."

Jamie is rubbing her head. "Wow…wicked migraine."

Dean turns to her. "Migraine?"

Jamie nods. "Yeah, why?"

Dean looks worried. "We need to be careful."

Sam closely follows behind Dean and Jamie. "Look, Carmen's gotta be worried sick about you, Dean. Jamie has to work in the morning. Come on, let- Let's just go."

Dean turns around. "Shh!"

"Shut up, Sam."Jamie rubs her forehead again.

Dean nods. "It's here." They hear noises and Sam finally starts to take it serious.

"What the hell is that?"

"Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut. Keep Jamie behind you."

"Jamie!" Sam stops short and grabs her arm. They're in the room with the bodies hanging from the ceiling Dean was in earlier. They both swallow hard, and then see Dean hanging at the same time. They rush over to him. "Dean! What do we do?"

Jamie stares at her brother, looking pale and lifeless. She raises her hands and puts them on either side of his head.

Dean, Jamie and SAM approaches they see bodies hanging from the ceiling appearing before them. It's the same bodies Dean saw in his closet. There is a drained bloodbag hanging next to one of the bodies.

Jamie puts her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god."

"What the hell?"

Dean looks further to the right, and sees the woman he has been seeing all through the episode, hanging like the bodies. They approach her and there is another bloodbag next to her, filled with blood. Her eyes are open and she looks dead. Dean breaths. "It's her." Sam looks at the bag and at her wrists that are tied, just like the others. Jamie scans her body and then feels for a pulse. She begins to make sounds.

Jamie whispers. "She's still alive."

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asks, forgetting to whisper.

Dean grabs him. "Shh!"

The Djinn is coming out. When it comes out from behind a wall and walks up behind the woman, the guys and Jamie are gone.

The woman is sobbing. "Where's my dad? I wonder how.." She is looking at the Djinn. "Don't." she moves her feet away from the Djinn. Dean, Jamie and Sam have hidden a few feet away. She's crying. "Where's my dad."

The Djinn touches her face. "Sleep." Blue flares go over her cheek as he strokes her. His eyes glow bright blue. "Sleep."

Her head falls forward, eyes still open and her feet relaxes, falling forward again. The Djinn rests his face against her arms, touching her right arm and breathing heavily, eyes closed. He then goes for the blood bag, pulls out one straw and puts it to his mouth, drinking her blood.

Jamie puts her hands over mouth and bites her knuckle to keep from screaming. Sam sees this and coughs in disgust. The Djinn turns around right away, eyes flash blue and he begins to move towards their hiding place. When he gets there, they're are gone.

The Djinn walks up some creeky steps. Sam, Jamie and Dean are standing below them, looking up, following his steps. When a door closes in the background Sam begins to breath loudly.

"This is real? You're not crazy?"

Dean is realizing something. "She didn't know where she was. She thought she was with her father."

Jamie gets an odd look on her face.

Jamie squeezes her eyes more tightly shut. Sam puts his hands on her shoulders. Jamie holds Dean's face in her hands. "He's…He's…almost…"

Dean, Jamie and Sam walk up to the woman again.

"What if that's what the Djinn does?"

Jamie turns to him. "You mean It doesn't grant you a wish, it just makes you think it has?"

Sam is looking around scared. "Look man. That thing could come back, alright?"

Dean walks past Sam in the opposite direction of the woman. Jamie follows after him. He looks up at a lightbulb and it starts to flicker in brighter light. Dean has flashes of himself hanging like the woman. He gets a little trouble breathing. Jamie looks at him.

"Dean?"

"Dean, please."

"What if I'm like her? What if I'm tied up here someplace? What if all this is in my head?" he walks up to the woman. "I mean it could, you know, maybe it gives us some kind of supernatural acid, and then just feeds on us slow."

"No. Dean, that doesn't make sense. Ok?"

"What if that's why she keeps appearing to me? She's not a spirit. It's it's like more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere. I'm I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I, but I can't snap out of it."

Jamie nods."Like you're going in and conscious or like an out of body experience?"

"Yeah, ok, look. Yeah yeah yeah, you're right. I was wrong. You're not crazy but we-we-we need to get out of here. Fast."

Jamie looks at him. "Sammy…"

Sam starts to pull Jamie and Dean with him. Dean pulls his arm loose from Sam. Sam looks at him and throws his arms out like "what?" Jamie looks at both of them.

"I don't think you're real."

Sam is agitated, and sucks in a breath. "Dude, you feel that?" he's grabbing Dean by the arms. "You feel this? I'm real. This is not an acid trip. I'm real, and that thing is gonna come down here and kill us for real. Jamie is in so much danger. Now please."

Jamie turns back to Dean. "Maybe he's right Dean. Maybe we should go back to Mom's. Figure this all out where we're safe."

Dean shakes his head. "No. There's one way to be sure." he pulls out the silver knife.

Sam is backing off and he pulls Jamie back. "Woh-woh-woh. What are you doing?"

"It's an old wivestale. If you're about to die in a dream, you wake up."

"No no no no no no no, that's crazy. Alright?"

"Dean, please don't."

Dean has a determined look. "Maybe."

Sam start walking towards Dean. "You're gonna kill yourself-" Dean holds out the knife and his other hand to stop him. "Ok."

"Or I'm gonna wake up. One or the other."

"Ok. This isn't a dream, alright. I'm here, with you, now. Jamie tell him. And you're about to kill yourself, Dean."

"Sam, I…Dean…"

"No, I'm pretty sure. Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough." He turns the knife on himself, takes both his hands to the handle, ready to thrust it into himself.

"WAIT!" Sam screams.

Suddenly Mary walks up next to Dean, in the same nightgown as she died in. Behind Sam and Jamie, Carmen appears.

"Why'd you have to keep digging?" Sam asks. Dean looks back at Mary. Jess appears on Sam's right side. Andrew appears next to Jamie with Mark. "Why couldn't you have left well enough alone?" Dean looks around. "You were happy."

Mary comes up in front of Dean. "Put the knife down, honey."

"You're not real." He starts to cry. "None of it is."

" It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had."

"What?"

"It's everything you want. We're a family again. Lets go home."

Dean shakes his head. "I'll die." His voice is breaking. "The Djinn'll.. drain the life out of me in a couple of days."

"But in here, with us. It'll feel like years. Like a lifetime." Dean looks over at Sam who halfsmiles and nods to him. "I promise." She takes his chin in her hand, he looks down on her. "No more pain." She strokes his cheek. "Or fear. Just love and comfort. And safety. Dean, stay with us." She strokes his other cheek and he leans into her hand, closing his eyes. "Get some rest."

"You don't have to worry about Sam anymore." Dean looks over at Jess. "You get to watch him live a full life."

Andrew nods. "And Jamie and I are happy. You have a nephew here."

Mary steps away, and Carmen walks up to him, taking his face in her hands, kissing him. "We can have a future together. Have our own family. I love you, Dean. Please."

Dean looks at them and turn to see his sister. "Jamie?" Jamie looks over at him. Her eyes flash and she looks up at him.

"Dean…listen to me. This isn't real. Hear my voice, snap out of it." Andrew grabs her and drags her back.

"Jamie?"

"Listen to me! Listen to me! Do it Dean."

Sam walks up to him, blocking him from Jamie. "Don't listen to her. "Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough?" I'm begging you." He breathes in. "Give me the knife."

Dean looks at Carmen, Sam and Mary with tears in his eyes. He looks past them to Jamie. Then he backs away looking at the floor. He raises his head, looking at Sam.

"I'm sorry."He thrusts the knife into himself, blood immediately comes out of his mouth.

"DEAN! DEAN! Dean." Sam walks up to Dean and he sees it's the real Sam. Jamie still has her hands against Dean's head. She opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. Dean is hanging from the ceiling like the other woman, eyes open. A blood bag hangs next to him. Jamie steps away.

"Dean?" She asks. "You back with me?"

"Oh God. Come on." Sam is shaking him. "Hay. Wake up. Wake up, damn it!"

Dean grunts a little, eyes begins to focus on Sam and Jamie.

"He's back."

"Hay. Hay."

"Ahh.. Antie Em. There's no place like home."

"Thank God. Thought we lost you for a second." Sam pulls out the tube in Dean's throat. Jamie puts her hand on his neck to stop the bleeding.

"You almost did."

Jamie scoffs. "Yeah and you scared the hell out of me. I thought you wouldn't listen to me for a second."

Dean looks at her. "When we get out of here, I want to know how you did that."

"Oh god." Sam is breathing heavily. "Let's get you down."

Jamie puts her arms around Dean. "I got him, cut the ropes."

Sam reaches up and starts to cut through the rope as Dean winces over the pain and grunts a little. Jamie holds his shoulders. Two bright blue eyes appear next to Sam in the shadows, and the Djinn comes out. Jamie gasps suddenly.

Dean sees the Djinn. "SAM! JAMIE!"

Sam turns around, going to the Djinn with the knife. The Djinn has Sam for a moment, and gets him to drop the knife. Jamie pulls out her own knife and slices through the rope, cutting Dean to the floor. The Djinn throws Sam down unto the stairs hard. He gets the upperhand on Sam and has him by the throat and moves his hand to his forhead, but Sam has a hold of his wrist, trying to stop him. Jamie hauls Dean up and they frantically look around for the knife. The Djinn opens his fist and blue light begins to appear around his hand, like it did when it got Dean. Dean and Jamie finally see where Sam dropped the knife, Jamie holds her hand out and makes the knife fly into Dean's hand. She grabs unto him as they rush over to Sam and the Djinn.

When his hand is almost at Sam's forehead Dean thrusts the knife into the back of the Djinn, turns it and the blue light go out of it's eyes. It closes its eyes, head rolls down and when Dean pulls out the knife, it falls to the ground dead. Jamie grabs Sam and pulls him off his back, he breathes heavily from being strangled and Dean doesn't look too good either. Jamie glances between her brothers.

Dean walks up to the girl. A tear rolls down one cheek. He puts his hand to her neck, feeling for a pulse. Sam and Jamie walk up behind him. "She's still alive." He hands the knife over to Sam. "Sam..."

Dean pulls out the tube in her neck as Sam cuts her rope. Dean and Jamie catch her as she goes down.

Sam watches Jamie help her into Dean's arms. "I gotcha. I gotcha. We're gonna get you out of here, ok? I gotcha." She makes small weezing sounds. "I got you."

Dean is on the bed in their hotel room with Jamie beside him. Sam is on the phone a few feet away. "Ok, uh, thank you so much for the update. Ok, bye." he hangs up. "That was the hospital. Girl's been stabilised. Good chance she's gonna pull through."

Jamie nods. "Thank God."

"That's good."

"Yeah. How 'bout you? You alright?"

Dean clears his throat. "Yeah, I'm alright. Should have seen it, guys. Our lives. Sam, you were such a wussy."

Jamie snickers.

Sam smiles. "So we didn't get along then, huh?"

"No.."

Jamie shifts closer to Dean. "But you and I did, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that's because you worship me in any reality."

Jamie hits him with a pillow.

Sam considers for a moment. "Yeah.. I thought it was supposed to, to be this perfect fantasy."

Dean shakes his head. "It wasn't. Was just a wish. I wished for mom to live. That mom never died, we never went hunting and you two and me just never uh.. You know."

"Yeah.. Well, I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean."

"Jamie helped."

"Oh please. Most people wouldn't have the strength to do what you did, they would have just stayed."

"Yeah.. Lucky me. I gotta tell you though... You know, you had Jess, Sam. And Jamie, you had a baby with AJ. Mom was gonna have a lot of grandkids..."

Jamie shakes her head. There's a knock at the door. "That's AJ." She gets off the bed and goes to the door. Sam looks at Dean.

"Yeah, but... Dean.. wasn't real."

Dean gets up and walks over to the wall, leaning against it. "I know. But I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay so bad. I mean, ever since dad... all I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've.. sacrificed so much."

Jamie and Andrew walk over to Sam and Dean. AJ turns to Dean. "We've all sacrificed so much." He puts his arms around Jamie.

"But look what we've done, Dean. What we do means something." She puts her hand on Dean's arm.

Sam reaches over and touches Dean's shoulder. "People are alive because of you. It's worth it, Dean. It 's not fair, and.. you know, it hurts like hell, but.. it's worth it."


	10. 221 222 All Hell Breaks Loose

The Impala pulls up to a little diner and Sam opens the passenger side door. Dean is driving and Jamie is curled up in the backseat. Dean leans over towards Sam. "Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?"

Sam shakes his head. "Dude, we're the ones who are gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions." Dean grins, Jamie rolls her eyes, and Sam gets out of the car, sighing.

Jamie leans in over the seat. "Don't forget my fries."

"Hey, see if they've got any pie." Sam glares at Dean and shuts the door. "Bring me some pie!" Dean calls out to him.

Jamie shakes her head. "You're such a jerk Dean." She hits him.

"What? I love me some pie." Dean leans against the seat and looks at his sister.

"Tell me more about the djinn thing. I was a doctor, and AJ and I were married?"

"Yup, sure were. Had a kid too, Mark, I think." Jamie laughs and throws herself down in the backside. Dean watches Sam go into the café and talk to the waiter. Suddenly, the car radio becomes staticy. Jamie sits up and moves in closer to Dean. Dean glances down and fiddles with the radio, but it turns off completely. When Dean and Jamie look back up, the inside of the café is empty. No waiter, no Sam.

Dean and Jamie hurry out of the Impala and run into the café. One customer at a booth is dead, face down in a puddle of blood. Jamie's face twists in disgust. "Well there goes my appetite." She reaches into the back of her jeans and pulls out her gun.

"Sam." Dean calls. He takes out his gun and looks around. They find that the employees are also dead, with their throats slit.

Jamie looks down. "Oh Sammy, please…"

Dean opens the back door and looks around outside. "Sam?!" He then notices a white substance on the door. He looks at Jamie.

"Sulfur." They race back out the front door, heading back to the car.

"Sam!"

"Sam! Sammy!"

"Sam?"

"Sammy! SAM!" Dean turns back to Jamie, his eyes frantic. Jamie's chest heaves quickly, she looks frightened. They stare at each other for a moment before Dean tries to regain composure. "Okay…come on. We have to find Bobby. He'll know what to do."

"It's gotta be the demon. I'll call Ash." Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm and they hurry back to the Impala.

Bobby meets them halfway. Dean, and Jamie are already parked on the side of the road. Jamie has her eyes closed, squeezed shut. Her face is streaked red. Dean glances down; rocks at their feet are levitating. Bobby walks up to them carrying a map. He glances down and then looks at Dean. Dean reaches out and grabs his sister's shoulder.

Dean: Jamie. Bobby's here.

Jamie slowly opens her eyes and she stumbles forward. Dean catches her. He gives her a look but she shakes her head. Steadying herself against the Impala, she takes Bobby's map and spreads it out.

"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month." Bobby tells them.

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Are you joking? There's nothing here."

"Exactly."

Jamie frowns. "I told you."

Dean shakes his head, growing frustrated. "Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, there isn't."

Bobby looks at Jamie and then at Dean. "That's what I'm telling you: there's nothing. It's completely quiet."

Dean is pissed. "Well, how are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?"

Jamie starts to say something but instead glances down. "It's Ash."

"What?" Dean's phone rings. It is Ash, calling from the Roadhouse. "How did you…and you can't find Sammy with that thing of yours?"

She narrows her eyes. "I'm the one who got away, remember? We still haven't figured out what the hell is wrong with me!" They sigh. The phone is still ringing. "Answer it, Dean."

"Ash, what do you got?"

"Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam." Ash tells him.

"Oh, come on, man! You've gotta give us something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here."

"Listen, Dean, I did find something."

"Well, what?"

"I can't talk over this line, Dean."

"Come on, I don't have time for this!"

Jamie grabs her head and sucks her breath in sharply. Dean glances down at her. "Dean, maybe you should…"

"Make time, okay? Because this-" He pauses. "Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is…it's huge. So get here. Now." He hangs up and Dean stares at the phone.

"I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. Come on."

Dean, Jamie and Bobby turn the corner to the Roadhouse. When they get there, however, the entire building has burned to the ground. "What the hell?" Dean asks.

"Ash." Jamie says quietly. They get out of the car and begin walking among the debris. Every single part of the Roadhouse has been destroyed.

"Oh, my God." Bobby remarks, looking around at the ashes.

Dean glances back at him. "You see Ellen?"

"No. No Ash, either."

"Oh God. Dean." Jamie points. "There." Dean suddenly bends down to where she's pointing and sees Ash's watch in the pile of rubble. He pulls on it and sees it is still attached to Ash's very burnt corpse.

"Oh, Ash, damn it!" Dean heaves in frustration. Jamie walks over to him. Across the way Jamie's truck pulls up. Andrew gets out.

"What happened here?" He looks around, his eyes wide.

"AJ." She runs to him and they hug.

Andrew looks towards Dean. "I take it that was your only lead…"

"This is…" Bobby trails off. Dean kicks a piece of debris in frustration before turning to his sister.

"What the hell did Ash know, Jamie?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" He yells in her face. He's almost a head taller than her, but she tilts her head back to get in his face.

"I mean I don't know!"

Andrew grabs Jamie's arm. "Hey guys. Chill out."

"I am not omniscience here, Dean! And I don't know where Ellen is either, before you ask. But she is alive."

Dean shakes his head and lets his breath out sharply. "Great. You're our only connection, Jamie. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?"

Bobby goes over to Dean. "We'll find him." Dean looks over to Bobby and then looks at the ground.

Jamie suddenly gasps and sinks to the ground. Andrew grabs her and sits on the ground with her.

"Dean!" Andrew calls to get the hunter's attention.

Dean moves back over to his sister. "Jamie, what is it?"

"A bell."

"What?" Bobby asks. Suddenly, Dean clutches his head in pain. "Dean?" Dean groans and doubles over. He sees an image of the Cold Oak bell very quickly. "What was that?"

Dean looks up. "I don't know. A headache?"

Bobby looks at him and then glances towards Jamie. "Does he get headaches like that a lot, Jamie?"

"No."

"Must be the stress." He chuckles. "I could have sworn I saw something."

Jamie grabs her head again, dropping to the ground. "A bell." Jamie holds her head. Andrew puts his arms around her shoulders.

Bobby looks from her to Dean. "I think you had a vision. I think you had her vision. "

Dean looks at him with wide eyes. "What? No!"

"I'm just saying."

"Come on, I'm not some psychic." Suddenly, the vision comes back. Jamie yells out, falling back in Andrew's arms. Dean falls against the car in pain. He sees another image, this time of Sam. Bobby rushes over to him.

"Dean? Dean! Are you with me?"

Dean looks up at him. "Yeah, I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him, Bobby."

"It was a vision." Andrew says.

"Yeah, no kidding. Ouch." Jamie leans against Andrew breathing heavily.

"Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah. Whew. That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels." Dean snickers.

Jamie smirks. "Welcome to my world. You saw a bell, right?"

"Yeah. It had engraving."

Bobby realizes something. "Was it an oak tree by any chance?"

"Wait." Jamie grabs Andrew's arm and stands up. She has a weird look in her eyes.

"What?" Dean looks over at her.

"Sam?" She mutters something. "Cold Oak. Oh-okay. Sam what's Cold- Damnit I lost him." She looks up at Bobby. "Bobby tell me you know what the hell 'The Cold Oak Bell' means, because I have no friggin clue."

Bobby nods. "I know where Sam is."

Dean and Jamie look at each other. They both have a determined look in their eyes.

Outside, near the edge of the woods, Bobby, Dean, Andrew and Jamie pull up in the Impala.

"Looks like the rest of the way's on foot." Bobby tells them as Dean kills the engine and they get out.

Andrew snickers. "Lucky us."

They open the trunk and grab their weapons.

"Let's go." Dean starts to lead the way.

Jamie stops and grabs unto her brother's arm. "Dean…something's here. We have to hurry."

They approach the street, already they can see Sam. Dean and Jamie are leading.

"Sam!" Dean calls.

Sam looks up and sees his siblings. "Dean!"

"Sammy!" Jamie yells, a hint of relief in her voice.

"Jamie. Thank God." He rushes towards them.

Jake suddenly wakes up. He grabs the knife that Sam had placed on the ground. Horror spreads across Jamie's face. "Jamie: No! Sam!" She runs towards him.

Dean sees it to. "Sam, look out!"

Too late. Jake stabs the knife right through Sam's back.

"SAMMY!" Jamie screams.

Dean yells out in horror. "No!"

Jake twists the knife, creating a massive wound. Bobby, Andrew, Dean, and Jamie reach them. Jamie waves her arm and Jake is thrown away from Sam. He gets up and runs. Bobby and Andrew follow after him. Sam falls to his knees. Dean slides to the ground in front of Sam, grabbing unto his shirt. Jamie gasps and then cries out in anguish. Dean is holding Sam trying to keep him conscious. Jamie starts crying. "God no. Sam."

"Sam!" Dean shakes his brother. Sam falls forward onto Dean's shoulder. Jamie gets down beside them. Dean looks at her and then looks at Sam. "Whoa, whoa, Sam. Sam! Hey! Come here. Let me look at you."

"No. God, please, no." Jamie whispers. Dean places his hand on Sam's wound, covering his entire palm in blood. "Samuel Eric Winchester I swear to God if you…"

Dean shakes his head, looking back at Sam. "Hey, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Sammy? Sam! Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up, okay? You're gonna be good as new. I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take you care of you. I've got you. That's my job, right? Watch out for my pain-in-the-ass little brother? Sam? Sam! Sammy!" Sam's eyes slide shut. His entire body slumps forward.

"Sam, I love you. Sammy. Please." Jamie cries hysterically, holding unto Sam's shoulder.

"No. No, no, no, no. Oh, God."

"Dean. Dean" Dean looks over at Jamie, pulling her and Sam into a tight embrace. With tears streaming down his face, Dean and Jamie hold Sam in their arms as he dies. Jamie lets go of Sam and grabs unto Dean.

"Sam!" Dean cries out. Jamie cries into Dean's shoulder.

Dean stands against the doorframe, looking at Sam's dead body. Jamie stands beside him. Her eyes are red and puffy. She continues to stare at Sam's dead body.

Bobby walks in with bucket of chicken. "Jamie?" Jamie doesn't respond. "Dean?"

Dean shakes his head. "No, thanks. I'm fine."

"You should eat something. Both of you."

"I said I'm fine." Dean moves away from the doorframe and goes to sit at the table. He picks up a bottle of booze and drinks from it. Bobby walks over to the door frame and waves his hand in front of Jamie's face.

"Jamie. Jamie!" Jamie finally looks up at Bobby. "You have to snap out of it, girl."

"Leave her alone."

"Dean...I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time...we bury Sam."

"No."

"We could…" He sighs. "Maybe..."

"What? Torch his corpse? Not yet."

"I want you to come with me. Both of you."

"We're not going anywhere."

"Dean, please. Will you look at your sister! She's just about catatonic!"

"She has a right to be. Would you cut us some slack?"

"I just don't think you two should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit- I could use your help." Dean snorts. "Something big is going down- end-of-the world big."

"Well, then let it end!"

"You don't mean that."

"You don't think so? Huh? You don't think Jamie's given enough? That I've given enough? You don't think we've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, turn around, and get the hell out of here. Go!" Dean shoves Bobby back. He takes a breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go."

Tears run down Jamie's face, but she doesn't say anything. She crosses her arms tightly over her chest.

"You know where I'll be." He turns his back on Dean and Jamie and leaves the motel room. Dean takes another look at Sam's body and a tear falls from his eye. He walks over to Jamie and looks at her.

"Okay. Time to talk again. You ran off AJ and now I've run off Bobby."

"What…"she swallows, her throat is dry. "What do you want me to say?" They stare at each other.

Sam's corpse lying on a mattress. Dean sitting next to him, gloomy. Jamie gets up and goes into the bathroom. She shuts the door. John's journal is sitting on the sink. It falls off, open. She wipes her eyes and goes over and picks it up. A yellowed piece of paper falls out. She puts the journal down and picks up the paper, turning it over so she can read it.

_May 3__rd__ 1991_

_Jamie,_

_When you read this, I have a feeling I'll be dead, and you'll have spent years hating me for what I've done to you today. You won't remember why, you'll only know that I abandoned you on your eighth birthday under the guise that I'm just trying to do what's best for you. Jamie, please please try to understand. Two nights ago a wendigo wondered into the yard. I had been tracking it for a week and it knew it. It found me before I found it. Dean and Sam were sound asleep. You had gotten up to get a glass of water, and heard me open the door. You thought I was just getting home so you rushed in to see me. Seven years of hunting and I didn't recognize the sound of my own daughter coming towards me. I took my eyes off the wendigo and it leap forward, right for you, claws drawn. I dove, knife in hand, and killed the bastard just before it could touch you. When I pulled back, it's blood splattered across your nightgown, right across your belly. At that moment all I could see was your mother. I burned that nightgown and convinced you that you had just had a really bad dream. You believed me, and slept in Dean's bed for the rest of the night. You didn't ask me about it in the morning, but I could see the fear in your eyes. I made the decision then and there that I wasn't going to put you through something like that ever again. You remind me too much of your mother. I don't know if I can justify this forever, or if I even want to, but I know I want my daughter to be safe. The day you and Sam were born, the nurse put you in my arms first and I remember thinking I didn't know how to raise a little girl. I still don't. I've made too many mistakes and if I have to make one that I can't take back, I'd rather it be doing something that keeps you away from this life. Away from me. I can't be the father of a daughter when I'm so consumed with this need for revenge. I cannot let it consume you too. I think it's too late to stop it in Dean, and I'm already seeing it in Sam, but you, you have a chance. Even if I can't do right by my sons, I will try like to hell to do right by my daughter. But always know, Jamie Cameron Winchester, that I love you. And regardless of whether you're a hunter when you're reading this or not, I am proud of you. _

_Your Father_

Tears fall down Jamie's face. She leans against the door and hears Dean talking to Sam.

"You know, when we were little—you couldn't been more than 5- you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he'd take off for days at a time? I remember I begged you- "Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know." I just wanted you to be a kid...Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you...Keep you safe...Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job... I had one job... And I screwed it up. I blew it. And for that, I'm sorry. I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. I let Jamie down all those years ago when I let Dad leave her behind. And now I guess I'm just supposed to let you down, too. How can I? How am I supposed to live with that?" He starts to cry. " What am I supposed to do? Sammy. God. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?!" He screams.

"Dean?" Jamie comes out of the bathroom, holding the letter to her chest. Dean turns around and looks at her. Jamie looks at him. "Dean. No. Please, if you…I've lost everyone, I can't lose you too." Tears stream down both their faces.

"I have to do this." He tells her, talking a step towards her. "I have to. It's my job."

"Dean…what about me? I'm part of that job, you're just gonna leave me?"

"Jamie…please understand. Please. It's my job to protect you and Sam, it always has been."

"Whose going to protect us after you're dead?" She wraps her arms around his neck. "Let me do it. I'm more valuable then you are. I have to be. Look what I can do."

Dean wraps his arms around her. "No. I won't let you. It has to be me, and no one else. There's no other way."

Jamie cries into his shoulder. "I know."

He pulls back and looks at her. "Don't let Sammy find out."

Jamie pulls him back into a hug. "I love you Dean."

"I love you too, Jamie."

Jamie is standing in the door way. Suddenly Sam's eyes open wide and he sits up on the mattress, looking around, confused, and breathing heavily. "Jamie?"

"Hey." Sam groans. "Hey, careful. Careful." She helps him off the mattress and then hugs him tight. He groans in pain and she pulls away. He goes and stands in front of a mirror, examining his back with a look of pain. There is a scar from where the knife was stabbed into his spine. Jamie frowns. In the distance a door opens and Dean enters the room.

"Dean." Jamie goes over and hugs him. Dean hugs her back and then looks past her.

"Sammy."

"Hey."

Dean pulls Sam into a tight embrace.

"Ow. Uh, Dean..."

Dean releases Sam "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man. I'm just...I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all. Come on, sit down." They both sit down. Jamie walks over and leans against Dean's chair.

"Okay. Jamie, Dean...what happened to me?"

Jamie looks away. Dean glances at her and then looks at Sam.

"Well, what do you remember?"

"I-I saw you two Andrew and Bobby, and...I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like...like, white-hot, you know, and Jamie did something and you started running at me, and...that's about it."

"Yeah, that- that kid, stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood. It was pretty touch and go for awhile." Dean swallows thickly.

Jamie nods. "It was bad."

"But Dean, Jamie, you two can't patch up a wound that bad."

"No, Bobby could." Dean says quickly. "Who was that kid, anyway?"

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?"

Dean shakes his head. "No, he disappeared into the woods."

"We got to find him, Dean. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart." He stands up with Dean and Jamie following suit.

"Sam." Jamie says softly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sam looks at her.

Dean glances at her and then looks at Sam. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right? Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?" Sam nods. "Jamie?" She nods. "I'm starving. Come on."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam are sitting at a table, eating. Sam is explaining what happened to him. "And that's when you guys showed up."

"That's awful. Poor Andy." Dean remarks.

"Yeah." Jamie nods.

"The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive."

"He told you that?" Dean asks.

"How?" Jamie turns to Sam.

"Yep." He scoffs. "He appeared in a dream."

Dean shakes his head. "He tell you anything else?"

Sam shakes head. "No. No. That was it. Nothing else. You know, what I don't get, Dean, is if the demon only wanted one of us, then how did Jake and I both get away?"

Jamie moves closer to him. "You took a pretty bad beating, Sam."

"Yeah, I mean, they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over." He eats a large bite of pizza. "So now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what's he gonna do with him?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we gotta stop him."

"Well, hold on. You need to get your rest. We got time."

"No, we don't."

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first."

"Well did you call the roadhouse? Do they know anything?"

"Yeah."

Jamie looks away. "Sam, about that…"

Sam looks at her. "Jamie...what is it?"

Dean sits down again. "The roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Maybe Ellen…"

Jamie cuts in. "No, Ellen's alive. I know it."

"But a lot of other hunters aren't." Dean finishes.

"Demons?" Sam asks.

Jamie nods. "Yeah, we think so."

"We think because Ash found something."

"What did he find?"

"Bobby and Andrew are working on that right now."

"Well, come on then. Bobby's only a few hours away." Sam begins to stand.

Jamie gets up. "Whoa, Sam."

Dean stands also and grabs Sam by the shoulders. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop, Sam, stop. Damn it. You almost died there. I mean, what would I have- you just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh? Just for a little bit?"

"I'm sorry. No." He leaves. Dean looks at Jamie and then shakes his head.

Bobby opens the door and looks at Sam with astonishment. He's standing between Dean and Jamie.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean says first.

"Hey Bobby" Jamie echos.

"Hey, Bobby." Sam finally says.

"Sam. It's good to see... you up and around." Bobby gives Dean a look.

"Yeah, well... thanks for patching me up." He walks inside.

"Don't mention it." Bobby stares after him.

"Yeah." Jamie walks in behind Sam. "Andrew?" She calls.

Dean looks at Bobby. "Well Sam's better. And we're back in it now, so...what do you know?"

Andrew walks out with Jamie at his side. "Well, we've found something." He nods towards the study.

They all go into the study. "But we're not sure what the hell it means." Bobby tells the siblings.

Sam looks down. "What is it?"

"Demonic omens...like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightening storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." He points to Wyoming on a map. "All around here, except for one place...Southern Wyoming."

Dean looks up. "Wyoming?"

"Yeah. That one area's totally clean - spotless. It's almost as if..."

"What?" Sam asks. Jamie gets a weird look in her eyes.

"The demons are surrounding it. But you don't know why?" She turns to Andrew.

"I don't have the slightest clue."

Bobby shakes his head. "Me neither, and by this point my eyes are swimming. Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't."

"Yeah, sure."

Jamie looks at Bobby and then to Andrew. "AJ, uh…"Jamie nods over her shoulder.

Bobby looks at Dean. "Come on, Dean. I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug 'em in."

"Yeah."

Dean, Jamie, Andrew, and Bobby are walking in the junkyard. Finally, Bobby stops and turns to face Dean and Jamie. "Which one of you did it?"

Andrew glares at Jamie. "My money's on Dean, because Jace I swear to God…"

Jamie looks away. "It wasn't me." She says quietly.

Bobby looks at her and then turns immediately to Dean. "You stupid ass! What did you do? What did you do?!" He pushes Dean. "You made a deal...For Sam, didn't you? How long did they give you?"

"Bobby." Dean gestures to Jamie.

"Dean Michael Winchester I swear to God…I'm gonna find out anyway. You can't hide much from me." Jamie's eyes flash in anger.

"How long?!" Bobby demands.

"One year." Dean finally says.

"A year! What the hell Dean!" Jamie shoves him. "What the hell?"

"That's why I didn't want to tell you."

Jamie starts crying again and Andrew grabs ahold of her, turning her around and wrapping his arms around her tightly. Jamie grabs unto him and sobs into his shoulder.

Andrew looks at Dean. "Deuce, you have to be freakin kidding me."

"Damn it, Dean."

Dean looks away. "Which is why we gotta find this yellow-eyed son of a bitch. That's why I'm gonna kill him myself. I got nothing to lose now, right?"

Bobby grabs Dean by the collar. "I could throttle you!"

Andrew nods. "If he doesn't I will."

Dean looks at them both. "And send me downstairs ahead of schedule?"

Bobby lets go of Dean. "What is it with you Winchesters, huh? You, your dad. You're both just itching to throw yourselfs down the pit."

"That's my point. Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here. At least this way, something good could come out of it, you know? It's like my life could mean something."

"What? And it didn't before?! Have you got that low of an opinion of yourself? Are you that screwed in the head?!" He grabs Dean again.

Dean is choking up. "I couldn't let him die, Bobby. I couldn't. He's my brother."

Jamie pulls away from Andrew. "He's my brother too, and so are you! You made me choose between you Dean! I shouldn't have let you go. God!"

Around them tires start floating into the air. Andrew grabs unto Jamie's hands and pulls them behind her.

"Jace! Jace, calm down." He turns to Dean. "Damnit Deuce. I always thought you were the level headed one. The one who could think with his head and not his gun."

Bobby looks at Jamie and then turns back to Dean. "Well now we know how your sister feels. How's your brother gonna feel when he knows your going to hell? How'd you feel when you knew your dad went for you?"

"You can't tell him. Either of you. You can take a shot at me. Whatever you got to do, but please don't tell him."

Bobby begins to cry, grabbing Dean's chin. Andrew holds Jamie tighter and she grabs unto Dean's arm. He wraps his arm around her. Suddenly there is a clank from a distant part of the junkyard. Bobby, Andrew, and Dean crawl to the side of a car, and grab the intruder. Jamie stands in place.

"Wait. Wait, Dean." Jamie tells them.

Once they have her by the shoulders, they recognize her as Ellen.

"Ellen?" Ellen nods. "Ellen. Oh, God." Dean hugs her.

Jamie wipes her eyes, almost smiling. "Told you she was alive."

Once they're in the house Ellen and Bobby sit at the table. He pours her a shot of liquid from a flask and pushes it towards her. "Bobby, is this really necessary?"

"Just a belt of Holy Water, shouldn't hurt."

She lifts the shot glass to her mouth and swallows the water. "Whiskey now, if you don't mind."

Bobby gets up to get whiskey. Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Andrew move in around her.

"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asks.

"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else." She scoffs. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck."

Jamie scoffs. "Yeah there's a lot of that going around." She looks at Sam. Sam looks at her confused.

Ellen drinks the whiskey Bobby poured for her and exhales sharply. "Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice." She sighs. "He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes."

Sam nods. "Sorry, Ellen."

Ellen is tearing up. "A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live." She scoffs. "Lucky me." Jamie hugs her.

Bobby looks up. "Ellen, you mentioned a safe."

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement."

"Demons get what was in it?"

"No." She pulls out a map from her pocket, unfolding it and setting it down on the table. It has several black lines and X's on it.

"Wyoming." Dean says. "What does that mean?" He's pointing to the lines.

"Start looking." Bobby tells them.

Dean, Sam, Bobby, Ellen, and Andrew get up and start pouring through some books. Jamie remains at the table.

Ellen turns to Andrew. "Is she okay?"

Andrew looks up from his book. "She's a little more powerful these days. She's trying to crack this from a different…perspective."

Suddenly Jamie's eyes widen. "Oh my god. Oh my god, Bobby." Jamie gets up, she looks around Bobby's room.

Bobby looks at her. "Jamie?"

"Here."She picks up a large book and hands it to Bobby.

"I don't believe it." He sets the book on a table. Andrew takes a look at it.

Sam and Dean walk over. "What? You got something?" Sam asks.

"A lot more than that. Each of these X's" Bobby points to the marks on the map. "Is an abandoned frontier church- all mid 19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

Dean looks at him. "Samuel Colt-the demon-killing, gunmaking Samuel Colt?"

Andrew nods. "One and the same."

"Yep. And there's more. He built private railway lines." Bobby points to the black lines on the map. "Connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." He connects the points on the map until the shape of a pentagram is made.

Andrew squeezes Jamie's shoulders. "I'll be damned."

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

Sam nods. "It's a Devil's Trap."

"A 100-square mile Devil's Trap." Jamie adds.

"That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross." Dean's eyes light up.

Ellen looks astonished. "I've never heard of anything that massive."

Bobby nods. "No one has."

Dean looks at Bobby. "And after all these years none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?"

Sam looks at his brother. "Definitely."

"How do you know?"

"All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

Jamie nods. "That's why it's clear but there's activity all around it. They're trying to get in."

Ellen looks up. "Why? What's inside?"

Dean's eyes scan the map. "That's what I've been looking for. And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle."

Sam looks confused. "Well what's so important about a cemetery or...what's Colt trying to protect?"

"Well, unless..."

"Deuce, unless what?"

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Oh my god!"

"Jamie?" Andrew turns to look at her. Jamie gets up and goes over to the window.

Ellen sighs. "Well that's a comforting thought."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, you think?"

"Could they do it, Bobby? Could they get inside?" Sam asks.

"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full-blood demon gets across."

Jamie is freaking out. Andrew puts his hands on her shoulders. "Oh God in heaven. Oh my God." Dean looks at Andrew. Andrew shrugs.

Sam is looking thoughtful. "No." he pauses. "But I know who could." He looks over at Jamie.

"Oh god, I should have killed him. Oh my god, I should have killed him. Why did I kill him? AJ why didn't I kill him?"

Sam goes over and grabs Jamie's arms. "What do you mean?"

Jamie looks at her brother. "I had him, Sam. And I had a chance. I could have crushed his throat and I just…"

Andrew rubs her shoulders. "Easy, Jamie. Easy."

"No! Don't you see? He's going to let out whatever is in that cemetery!"

Dean looks between Jamie and Sam. "We have to go now."

It's night when they reach the cemetery. A cemetery gate opens and Jake enters, walking towards a crypt. Dean is standing behind a large tomb, a gun in hand. Sam steps out. "Howdy, Jake."

SAM, Andrew, Bobby, Ellen, and Dean appear from the shadows, guns raised.

Jake looks shocked at the sight of Sam. "Wait...you were dead. I killed you."

"Yeah? Well next time, finish the job."

"I did! I cut clean through your spinal cord, man." Sam glances at Dean. "You can't be alive. You can't be."

Bobby steps forward. "Okay, just take it real easy there, son."

"And if I don't?"

"Wait and see." Sam challenges.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you gonna do-kill me?"

"It's a thought."

Jamie comes out from the shadows. She's not holding a gun. "If he doesn't, I will."

Jake recognizes her."You."

"Yeah, me."

"You did something to me."

"You aint seen nothin, yet."

"You had your chance. You couldn't."

Sam smirks. "We won't make that mistake twice."

Jake begins to laugh.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" Dean asks.

"Hey Lady, do me a favor. Put that gun to your head." Ellen points her gun at her temple. "See that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Son of a bitch." Andrew curses.

"Let her go." Sam says.

Ellen's voice is trembling. "Shoot him."

"You'll be mopping up a skull before you get a shot off."

Jamie raises an eyebrow and looks at Ellen. Her hand stops trembling. She looks back at Jake.

"Everybody, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart." Bobby and Andrew drop their guns. Dean and Sam do so reluctantly. "Okay. Thank you." Jale turns around and pulls the Colt out of his pocket. While he is inserting it into the crypt, Jamie waves her hand and Ellen's gun flies into Sam's hand. Dean and Bobby grab Ellen just as Sam shoots Jake four times in the back. Jake falls onto the ground, and Sam positions himself in front of him.

"Please...don't. Please." Jake gasps. Sam shoots Jake three more times in the chest.

All of them stare at Sam. Jamie's eyes widen and she looks at the crypt. "The Colt. Dean, get the Colt!"

Dean moves towards the door. The six watch as two separate engravings on the crypt spin in different directions, then stop.

Andrew looks back. "Uh, Bobby, Jamie…"

"Oh, no."

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asks.

Jamie is breathing heavily. "Oh God."

"It's hell." Bobby says, deadpanned. Dean pulls the Colt from the Crypt. "Take cover-now!"

All six run behind tombstones as the doors to the crypt burst open. A large black mass erupts from the other side and shoots outward. Jamie grabs her head and screams. Andrew grabs her and holds her, trying to calm her down. The demons start breaching the Devil's Trap and escaping.

"My head is gonna explode!" Jamie screams.

"What the hell just happened?!" Dean yells.

"That's a devil's gate." Ellen answers.

Andrew looks up, horrified. "A damn door to hell?"

Jamie screams. She has a vision. The railway iron is shown being bent in two and a pair of legs crossing. "He's coming." She whispers, looking squarely at Dean.

"Come on! We gotta shut that gate!" Ellen yells.

"Andrew, stay with Jamie. Sam, Come on." Bobby orders. Bobby, Ellen, and Sam run for the gate.

Dean checks the Colt for bullets. "If the demon gave this to Jake...then maybe..."

"Dean!" Jamie yells in warning. "He's here."Thunder crashes and the Yellow Eyed Demon appears behind Dean. He flings the Colt out of Dean's hand and into his own.

"A boy shouldn't play with Daddy's guns." He throws Dean into the air, where Dean hits his head on a tombstone.

"Dean!" Jamie yells.

"Dean!" Sam lets go of the gate door and runs to his brother. The demon throws him against a tree.

Andrew turns to Jamie. "What do we do?"

Jamie looks at Sam, then Dean and then to the gate. "Get the gate. Go." Andrew runs for the gate. Jamie stands up, a white mist forms around her. She looks toward Dean and the demon.

"I'll get to you in a minute, champ. But I'm proud of you-knew you had it in you. The yellow-eyed demon. paralizes Dean. "Sit a spell. So, Dean...I got to thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, red tape-it'll make you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation." He laughs. "Now, I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad. I liked him better than Jake, anyhow. Tell me-have you ever heard the expression, "If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is?"

Dean looks up. "You call that deal good?"

"Well, it's a better shake than your dad ever got. And you never wondered why? I'm surprised at you. I mean...you saw what your brother just did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it?" he chuckles. "How certain are you that what you brought back, is 100% pure Sam?" he laughs. "You of all people should know, that's what's dead, should stay dead. Anyway...thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now, anyway. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family."

As the demon cocks the Colt, John appears and grabs the demon from behind. The body the demon possessed falls to the ground, the gun still in hand, while John and the demon wrestle. Jamie rushes over to Dean. She stares at the Colt and it flies into her hands. She looks down at it, and towards the demon. She doesn't take her eyes off him as she cocks the gun. Dean looks at her, holding his hand out. The demon pushes John to the ground and enters the body once more. When he stands up, Dean shoots him with the Colt. The demon then falls to the ground, dead. Jamie pulls Dean to his feet.

Bobby, Andrew, and Ellen close the gate doors and turn to see John. The father puts his hand on Dean's shoulder, both are crying, while Sam stands on the side and gives his father a nod. Jamie looks at her father and John reaches out and hugs her. After a moment they pull away. With another look at Dean, John steps back and disappears.

Sam walks over to Dean and Jamie, and they stand over the demon's smoking body, astonished.

"Well, check that off the to-do list." Dean says, cracking a smile.

"You did it." Sam says.

Jamie nods. "Yeah he did."

"I didn't do it alone." He looks at Jamie and then looks up.

"Do you think Dad really...do you think he really climbed outta hell?" Sam asks.

"The door was open. If anyone's stubborn enough to do it...it would be him." Dean smiles. Jamie and Sam grin.

"Where do you think he is now?"

Jamie looks up. "Some place better then hell, I hope."

"I kind of can't believe it, guys. I mean...our whole lives, everything...has been prepping for this, and now I... " Sam chuckles. "I kind of don't know what to say." He reaches over and puts his arm around Jamie's waist.

Dean looks thoughtful. "I do." He leans closer to the body. "That was for our mom...you son of a bitch."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Jamie smirks,putting one arm around Sam's shoulders and the other around Dean's. Dean puts his arm around her waist.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean walk towards the Impala. "You know, when Jake saw me...it was like he saw a ghost." Sam scoffs. "I mean, hell, you heard him, Dean. He said he killed me."

"I'm glad he was wrong."

Jamie nods. "Me too."

"I don't think he was, guys. What happened...after I was stabbed?"

Dean looks up. "We already told you."

"Not everything."

Jamie sighs. "Sam, not right now." She pulls her hair out of the ponytail holder and brushes it back nervously with her fingers.

"We just killed the demon. Can we celebrate for a minute?" Dean asks.

"Did I die?"

"Oh, come on."

"He..." Jamie looks at Dean.

"Did one of you sell your soul for me, like Dad did for you, Dean?"

Dean looks up, exhausted. "Oh, come on! No!"

"Dean." Jamie puts her arms around him.

"Tell me the truth." Dean sniffles. "Dean, tell me the truth."

"Tell him, Dean."

"Sam... " he chuckles, pushing Jamie back.

"How long do you get?" Sam's voice breaks.

Jamie grabs Sam's hand.

"One year. I got one year."

"You shouldn't have done that. How could you do that?"

"Don't get mad at me. Don't you do that. I had to. I had to look out for you. That's my job."

"And what do you think my job is?"

"Our Job." Jamie puts in.

"What?"

"You've saved my life over and over. I mean, you sacrifice everything for me. Don't you think I'd do the same for you? You're my big brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna get you out of this. "

Jamie nods. "I'm not going to let my big brother go to hell, Dean. I didn't come back just to have my family ripped away from me."

Sam snickers. "Guess we gotta save your ass for a change."

Jamie grins even though tears are falling down her face. "It's a nice change, I think."

"Yeah."

Ellen approaches. "Well...Yellow Eyed Demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate."

"How many, you think?" Dean turns to Sam and Jamie.

"Hundred. Maybe two hundred. It's an army. He's unleashed an army." Sam says quietly.

Jamie shakes her head. "It's not going to be pretty."

Bobby walks up. "Hope to hell you three are ready. 'Cause the war has just begun."

Andrew stands beside Bobby. "What do you say guys, Jace and I will take one half, you two take the other?"

Dean grins. "Well, then."

Sam, Jamie, Andrew, and Dean open the Impala's trunk. Dean throws the Colt inside and closes it. "We got work to do."

Epilogue

Jamie and Sam are sitting outside a motel in Jamie's pick up. Jamie and Andrew's bags are packed and sitting between Jamie and Sam.

"Demon blood? He fed you demon blood?"

"Yeah. Don't tell Dean. Please Jamie."

"You two and your secrets. And me in the middle." She looks at Sam. "Don't worry."

"What do you mean?"

Jamie looks down. "Andrew and I are leaving, Sam. We have all these demons to hunt down and cast back into hell…"

"You're worried you won't ever see him again." Sam guessed. He didn't look at his sister.

"I can't watch Dean die. I watched Mom die, Dad die, I watched you die, I cannot watch Dean die. And I can't sit here and just wait, knowing he's going to hell."

"He's not going to go to hell. We'll find a way to stop it."

"I don't think you can stop it, Sam."

"Jamie."

"I want to believe you can, but I can't. Something…something isn't right about this whole thing. " She sighed, letting her head drop back against the seat. "Did he say anything about me?"

"Just that he never got the chance to do the same to you. He said something protected you that night or something. He didn't say what, but he did say it was what gave you your powers."

"Is that why they all call me the one who got away?"

"I don't know."

She sighs closing her eyes and opening them again. "Man. And here I was hoping…"

"What?"

"I was hoping the explanation for what I could do would be simple, ya know? And it isn't. We thought I was like you. We thought that was the reason, and it's not. Whatever gave me these abilities is not the same thing that gave you yours. That scares the hell out of me, Sammy. If it's not because we're twins, and it's not because some demon did something to me, then what is it?"

"Hell if I know." Dean opened Jamie's door and looked at her. Andrew was standing on the other side next to Sam. "You two should probably get going. Start getting a jump on this."

"Dean." Jamie reached out and wrapped her arms around him. "Dean if…"

"Jamie. I know, alright? I know. I love you and I would have done the same damned thing if it had been you. I'll see you in a couple months, alright?"

"Alright." Jamie pulled away and wrapped her arms around Sam.

"I promise to watch his ass." Sam whispered into her ear, pulling her close.

"Don't get killed."

"I promise. You promise?"

"Yes."

"You keep my sister safe, you hear me AJ? Something happens to her and I will drag you to hell with me." Dean put his hand on Andrew's shoulder. Andrew nodded, hitting Dean's shoulder lightly.

"I got it covered, Deuce. See ya around." Dean nodded. Sam got out of the truck and shook Andrew's hand. "Sammy you watch Deuce's back, alright? And don't leave me and Jace out of the loop for too long. We'll hunt these black eyed sons of bitches and you find a way to save your brother."

"I'll try like hell." Andrew got into the truck and Sam turned back to him. "Andrew? Take care of yourself. You too, Jamie."

"We'll see ya." Andrew told him as Jamie started the engine. They pulled out unto the dirtroad and waved as they sped off. "Jace…what are ya thinkin?" he turned to his girlfriend who kept her eyes on the long winding trail.

"That we're making a mistake splitting up. God, Andrew…"

"Shh…it's okay. Do you want to go back?"

Jamie is silent for a long moment. Her blue eyes shift back and forth from the road ahead to the road behind her. "No. We can't go back. We have to do this. Don't let me forget we need to stock up on rock salt and water when we reach the nearest town."

"That's my girl."


	11. 316 No Rest for the Wicked

Dean has just come out of another hallucination. He stares at Sam. Suddenly the door to the cabin flings open. Dean and Sam jump and grab their guns. Jamie walks in and waves her hand, slamming the door behind her. Dean and Sam both sigh in relief and look at their sister. Her hair is reddish but blonde at the roots, cut off so that it grazes her chin, and her clothes are ripped, rumpled, and bloody and she has a nasty cut down on the side of her face, same place as where she got cut when she, John, Sam, and Dean were hit by the demon trucker after the encounter with Azazel. She sways on her feet.

"Oh my God!" Sam and Dean run over to her. Dean picks her up and carries her over to the bed. Sam fumbles around for their med kit. "Jamie, what happened?" Dean sits besides his sister, moving her hair away from the cut. She reaches up and grabs his hand, holding it tightly.

"I've been looking for you guys for two days." Sam walks over and drabs the cut on her face. She hisses in pain. Dean looks down at her stomach and sees her shirt and jeans covered in blood. "It's not mine." She tells him, reading the concern on his face. Tears run down her cheeks. "Andrew's dead."

"What? What happened?" Sam asks, taking her other hand.

"We were hunting a demon. There weren't any signs that it was something big and powerful, just annoying. Headache wasn't even that bad. We trapped it, I exorcised it, we left. Only I didn't really exorcise it. It tricked me. It trapped itself inside, I didn't see a mark. Next thing I know we're being attacked. Andrew is shooting the hell out of it, I'm screaming in Latin, and suddenly I can't see, I can't move. Not only is the exorcism not working, I can't use my telekinesis, I'm bound, and the only way I can see is through the mind link with AJ. He runs out of bullets. The salt is gone. We're out of holy water. He's not wearing iron. I can't find my knife. He grabs unto me. The one thing protecting us is my damn tattoo. And he just drops in front of me and hemorrhages. The demon bitch, whoever it is, takes a step towards me and tells me I'm damn lucky I'm the one who got away, because otherwise I'd be just as cold as Sam was, Andrew is, and Dean will be. And then it leaves. Everything goes black. And when I wake up AJ is dead in my arms." Dean wipes the tears off her face, holding her tightly to him. "My boyfriend is dead, Dean. I salted and burned AJ's body. Swear to God I won't have to burn yours too."

Awhile later Bobby is standing over a map over the states, and places an old tracking device over it. Basically it has three wooden "legs" coming out from a glass or crystal ball at the top. The ball has a flat, metal piece going around it with symbols on it. Further down the legs there's another metal piece, only bigger. From the ball hangs pendulum device that is sharp on the end so that it can pinpoint a specific place. "So you need a name, that's the whole kit and caboodle. With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out." Bobby tells the siblings.

"Like the town Lilith's in?" Sam asks.  
"Kid, when I get done, we'll know the street." Bobby turns to Jamie who is standing beside Dean, still looking pale unsteady. "Jamie…" He holds up a book. "It's Latin."

Jamie looks at Dean who pushes her closer to Bobby. He begins the ritual and starts the swing for the pendulum. Jamie chants in Latin. As Dean and Sam watch, the pendulum begins to search over the map until it suddenly just stops, pointing out Lilith's location.

"New Harmony, Indiana." Bobby says.  
"I'll be damned." Jamie spits. "That's not far from where Andrew and I ran into the demon who got him."  
Dean looks up at her from the map. Sam nods.

"Alright." Sam pushes the pendulum away and looks at Bobby. "Let's go."

Dean shakes his head. "Wo-wo-wo-wo, hold on. Let's all shut up there, Tex."

Sam and Jamie look up. "What's the problem?"

Dean stares at the two of them. "What's the problem? Come on, where do I begin? I mean, first of all, we don't even know if Lilith holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel? Now when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked. Okay. Second, even if we could get to Lilith we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head on a pike, should I continue?"

Bobby scoffs. "Ain't you just bringing down the room."

"Yeah, well it's a gift."

Sam and Jamie look at each other. Sam rolls his eyes. "I'm sorry, so then what are we supposed to do Dean?"

"Besides sit here and watch you die." Jamie tells him.

Dean looks at his siblings. "Just 'cause I gotta die doesn't mean you two have to, okay. Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

Sam sighs. "Ok fine. If that's the case I have the answer." Jamie looks over him. Dean crosses his arms.

"You do?"  
"Yeah. A surefire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu."

Dean shakes his head. "Damn it Sam, no." He turns his back to Sam and walks a few steps. Jamie looks confused.

"We're so passed arguing. Dean, I am summoning Ruby." Sam tells him.

Jamie crosses her arms, looking from Sam to Dean. "Uh, hi. I've been gone all season. Who the hell is Ruby?"

"The demon bitch Sam is sweet on." Dean turns around, facing them. "And the hell you are! We have enough problems as it is."

"A demon?" Jamie looks over at Sam.

"Exactly." Sam walks up to Dean. "And we've got no time and no choice either." He gives Jamie a look. Jamie sighs.

"Come on man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay. She told you that she could save me, huh lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith but forgot to mention, oh right Lilith owns my soul!"

"Okay, fine. She's a liar. She's still got that knife."

Jamie puts her face in her hand. "Dean…Maybe…" She looks up at her big brother.

"For all we know, she works for Lilith."

"Then give me another option, Dean. I mean, tell me what else."

Bobby finally speaks up. "Sam's right."

Dean looks at Bobby, his face flush with anger. Jamie walks towards him.

"I don't like it either, big brother, but if we don't something fast you are going to die!"

Dean turns to her, obviously upset. "NO! DAMN IT!" Jamie takes a step back. Bobby looks at him, surprised. They all look at each other for a few seconds, waiting for Dean to say something. Dean takes a deep breath and speaks calmer. "Just no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again." Sam and Bobby are shocked. Jamie frowns deeply. "You guys wanna save me, find something else."

Sam and Bobby look at him as he walks back to the table he was sitting at before, and sits down with a contemplative look. As Sam looks at him, sighing, Bobby grabs his jacket. Sam and Jamie stare at him. "Where are you going, Bobby?" Sam asks.

Bobby shakes his head. "I guess to..." He throws out his arms out. "…find something else." Bobby leaves. Jamie walks over and stands next to Dean. He looks up at her and looks away. Sam sighs looking into space, thinking about everything himself.

It's a little while later. Dean is engrossed in a book. Jamie knows Sam is in the basement with Ruby, it just takes her a few minutes before she can get up and go down the stairs. Jamie walks in, looking apprehensive and a little scared. Sam and Ruby see her. "Sam?"

Ruby looks up. "You must be Jamie."

"Yeah, I must be." Sam walks over stands just slightly in front of her. Jamie shoves him aside. "Can you save Dean?"

Ruby looks at her. "You're the great Jace Winchester, aren't you? The one who sees. I heard about your boyfriend."

Jamie shakes her head. Memories of AJ's death come flooding back and tears threaten to fall. "Can you save Dean?"

"I know how to save your brother." Sam shoves Jamie behind him.

"No, you don't! You told Dean you couldn't! You've been lying to me all along, so just give me your damn knife!"

"You're not the one I've been lying to. "

"Oh, so you can save him?"

Ruby looks straight at Sam. "No. But you can."

"What?" Jamie and Sam ask at the same time.

"Sam, you've got some God-given talent. Well, not "God"-given but you get the jist. And that's just you." She glances at Jamie.

"All that psychic crap? That's gone ever since Yellow-eyes died."

Ruby is shaking her head. "Not gone, dormant. And not just visions either. Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you?"

"Right... she's scared of me."

"If you wanted, you could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle. You both could. Jamie, you are more powerful then you realize. Very soon demons will run from you."

Jamie narrows her eyes. "You're lying."  
"I don't believe you. "  
"It's the truth."

"And you decided to tell me this just now?"

"Uhm.. Demon. Manipulative's kinda in the job description. Fact is, is that you would have never concidered it. Not until you were-"

"Desperate enough?" Sam and Jamie finish at the same time. They exchange a look, and she shrugs as he looks away.

"You don't like being different. You both hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes. Like you're some kind of sideshow freaks. But suck it up because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've gotta do it fast. But we can do it." Jamie steps back. Sam clenches his jaw, looking at the floor. After a beat he looks up at her. "Look. Call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you Sam. Not ever. And I'm telling you. You two... can save your brother, and I can show you how."

"So that's you, huh? Our slutty little Yoda." Dean shows up behind her, not looking very happy. Jamie moves towards him.

"Dean." Ruby turns around, looking at him and all her softness in her voice that she directed at Sam and Jamie is gone. "Charming as ever." She says sarcastically.

Dean and Jamie walk towards her and Sam. "Aw, I knew you'd show up. Because I knew Sam wouldn't listen." Sam looks at him on that note but looks away quickly. Jamie looks at Dean. "But you're not gonna teach them anything, you understand me? Over my dead body."  
"Oh. Well, you're right about that."

"What you are gonna do is give me that knife. And then you can just go crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother me or my brother or my sister again. Are we clear?"

"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him. Your sister is more valuable than any kind of material wealth. We'd be stupid not to use them." Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm and moves behind him. Dean glances over his shoulder at her.

"Dean, look, just hold on for one-"  
"Sam! Don't. Come on man, what, are you blind? Can't you see that this is a trick?" Dean yells, angry.

"That's not true."  
"She wants you to give into this whole demonic psychic whatever, okay. I mean hell, she probably wants you to become her little anti-christ Super Star." Jamie whimpers just slightly.

"I want Lilith dead. That's all." Ruby says, angrily.

"Why?" Dean asks.

"I've told you why!"

"Oh, right, yeah. Because you were human once and you liked kittens and long walks on the beach." Dean mocks her.

Jamie swallows heavily. "Dean…"

"You know, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You wanna save yourself, this is how. You dumb, spineless dick. "

Dean looks at her, and then turns around as if to leave but instead comes back swinging his right hook and punching her in the face, looking pissed. Jamie hurries back. Sam backs away a bit, surprised by the hit. He goes over to Jamie. Ruby takes a few steps back with the hit, looks up at him as she wipes blood from her lip and after a beat hits him once with her right fist and then her left.

"Ruby, hay!" Sam calls.

"Dean!" Jamie yells.  
Sam grabs unto Jamie and holds her behind him. Ruby goes around, hits Dean in the back causing him to double over. She then knees him in the face, sending him into a beam and sliding to the floor. As she turns around to Dean he hits her in the face once with his left and as he's about to hit with his right she ducks out of the way and going with his momentum knees him in the stomach. Sam is on the floor holding a hand over his mouth and the other holding Jamie back as more punches are being thrown by Ruby. She kicks Dean in the face causing him to fall to the floor. He tries to get up but she walks over and kicks him hard in the stomach sending him rolling over the floor. He starts to get up and she comes over and takes hold of him, helping him up face to face only to headbutt him so he falls backwards to the floor again. Jamie breaks Sam's grip and rushes over to Dean. As Ruby stands looking at him, he starts grinning and slowly rises to his feet with Jamie's help.

"The hell are you grinning at?"

"Missing something?" Dean pulls up her knife infront of his face. She looks at him like "you bastard".

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch."

She rushes towards him but Jamie holds her hand out and she thrown back. She gets up and starts towards them again but she is stopped by an invisible wall. She tries to walk past it once as Dean and Jamie just look at her. She looks at them and then looks up at the roof. Dean's painted a Devil's Trap. Sam takes his hand from his mouth, surprised by this. Ruby looks at Dean again, pissed. He smiles a little, looking at the trap and then he looks at her, still holding up the knife.

"Like I said..." He hands the knife to Jamie. "I knew you'd come." He takes Jamie's hand and walks away from Ruby, towards the staircase. She follows him with her eyes.

"Wait! You're just gonna leave me here?" Dean and Jamie stop, waiting for Sam and ignoring Ruby.

"Let's go Sam."

Jamie nods. "Come on."

Sam comes over as Dean takes a deep breathe, blinking hard and then he pushes Jamie slightly. She starts up the steps, he follows with Sam behind him.

"Oh, oh you- so you're just too stupid to live, is that it? Then fine! You deserve hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!"

Jamie lets out a sob. Dean groans, pissed she upset Jamie. "And I wish you'd shut your piehole, but we don't always get what we want."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam have laid out their weapons. Among them lies the gun with the white handle Dean has use over the years. He picks up a clip. He, Jamie, and Sam are loading weapons under dead silence. Sam has something on his mind. "We're just gonna let Ruby rot down there?"

"That's the idea."  
"Dean, what if uh... What if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?"

Dean looks up at him with an angry, doubting look. Jamie looks at both of them with pleading eyes.

"Sam…"

"Quit looking at me like that. Both of you."

"What, are you gonna give her the Carrie-stare and Lilith goes "poff"? "

"Dean…"

"I don't know what Ruby meant. You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"Sam, you wanted the knife - I got you the knife." He walks over to another table. Jamie sets her gun aside and picks up the knife. She twirls it in her hands.

"Dean, just listen to me for a second. Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass, and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

Jamie looks toward Dean. "Maybe he's right."

"Well, this ain't smart."

"We got one shot at this, Dean. Just one. So if there's a surefire way then maybe we should just talk about it. "

Dean walks up to him as he speaks. "Sam. We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again."

"You said that but what does it even mean?"

Jamie gets up. "Dean. This is about you. This is not about Dad. You have to stop thinking about that!"

"Jamie, stop, don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean everytime one of us is-is-is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul." He looks at Sam. "That's all this is, Sam. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going."

Jamie sighs and looks away. Dean turns around, sits down against a table and picks up the guns again. Jamie gets up and walks over to him. Sam shakes his head a bit and walks around to the other side of the table.

"Dean." He sits down next to Dean, looking at him as he continues to assemble the weapon.

"What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it." Jamie looks at Sam. They share a look. Dean stops what he's doing, looking at the floor and shakes his head. "And if it'll save you..."

"Dean."

"Why even risk it?" He looks up at both of them. Jamie stares at him. Sam looks away for a beat and then back at him with the obvious answer.

"Because you're my brother. Because you did the same thing for me."

Dean scoffs. "I know... And look how that turned out."

He looks at him and Sam looks away at this.

"Dean."

"Jamie. No. You especially, no."

"What's so damn special about me?"

"Look, all I'm saying.." he gets a little chocked up. "Sammy, Jamie, all I'm saying is that you're my weak spot."

Sam looks over at him at this. Jamie's eyes get red.

Dean gives them a smile. "You are. Both of you. And I'm yours."

Jamie is shaking her head. "Damnit."

Sam is choked up. "You don't mean that, we're.. we're family."

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what?" Jamie looks at Dean. "We just stop looking out for each other?"

"No, we stop being martyrs, guys. We-we-we stop spreading it for these demons." He picks up Ruby's knife and holds it up. "We take this knife, and we go after Lilith our way. The way dad taught us to. And if we go down, then uh... then we go down swinging." Sam just looks at him. Tears run down Jamie's face. "What do you think?"

"I think…" Jamie looks at Sam.

Sam looks down on the floor, thinking, then he looks up at Dean. "I think you totally should have been jamming "Eye of the Tiger" right there." Jamie starts laughing softly.

"Oh, bite me. I totally rehearsed that speech, too."

"I know. I heard you." Jamie wipes her eyes and hugs him.

Sam smiles at that. "So, Indiana huh?"

"Yeah, where Lilith's on shore-leave."

Jamie smirks. "God…"

"Yeah, I guess. "

"Tell me something." Sam and Jamie look up at him. "The hell's a demon do for fun?"

Sam, Jamie, and Dean are in the Impala about to leave. Dean tries to start up the car but it won't start up. He and Sam look a bit worried and reaching the "what's going on" faces. Jamie's jaw drops a little. Suddenly Bobby shows up outside Dean's door, scaring the boys with his sudden appearance. Jamie however shakes her head and crosses her arms. "Damnit Bobby."

"Where do you think you're going?" Dean looks at him and the distributor cap he holds in his hand. After a beat he, Jamie, and Sam gets out of the impala and walks up to Bobbby who's not looking happy. But then neither is Dean.

"We got the knife."

"And you intend to use it without me." Sam and Jamie come from around the car and stands in the middle next to Dean and Bobby, watching them. "Do I look like a ditchable prom-date to you?"

"Ew." Jamie remarks. Sam grabs her hand.  
"No Bobby. Of course not."

"This is about me... and Sam and Jamie. Ok? This isn't your fight."

Bobby walks up to Dean, furious by those words. "The hell it isn't!" Dean looks at him, taken aback by this.

"Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me."

"Bobby."

"You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?" Sam looks at him, a bit confused by this. He looks over at Dean who turns to look at him, tilts his head one time. Both of them look at Jamie.

"What?"

Dean turns back to Bobby. "I know how she knows, but how'd you know?"

"Because that's what happens when you've got hellhounds on your butt. And because I'm smart, I don't psychic powers to tell me that."

Jamie scoffs at this. "Be nice Bobby, we're probably gonna die tonight."

"Hmm." Dean looks down on the ground, as Sam watches him. Bobby hands Dean the distributor cap. "  
I'll follow." He walks away from the boys, over to his own car. After a moment Dean walks over to the hood of his car, ready to put back the part. "Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either."

Dean stops in his tracks, shakes his head a bit with raised brow. He turns around looking back at Sam who looks at him and sighs, and Jamie who stares back at him.

The boys and Jamie are driving down the road, on their way to Indiana. "Hay Dean?" Sam asks.

"Yeah?"

"Oh god." Jamie turns away.

"You know if this doesn't uh... this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know-"

"No. No-no-no-no."

"No what?"

Dean looks over at Sam. "No, you're not gonna bust out the misty good-bye speech, ok? And if this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially akward. That goes for you too, Jamie." Sam looks down and out the window and Dean turns back to the road. Jamie sighs. "You know what I do want?" He reaches down to the radio and starts up Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". Sam looks a bit "eeh?".

"Bon Jovi?"

"Bon Jovi rocks…"

"Dean!" Jamie whines.

"On occasion." He looks over at Sam to underline this statement. When Sam looks away Dean turns back to the road and begins to sing along with Bon Jovi. " And I walk these streets A loaded six-string on my back I play for keeps" He turns to Sam, nudging him. "Come on. Cause I might not make it back  
I've been everywhere." He glances back at Jamie. She finally smiles a little.

Sam and Jamie start singing. "Oh yeah."

"and I'm standing tall"

Sam and Jamie laugh and sing along with him

"I've seen a million faces  
And I rocked 'em all  
'Cause I'm a cowboy  
On a steel horse I ride  
I'm wanted"

Dean looks over at Sam who's really getting into it and then glances at Jamie.

"WANTED!" Jamie and Sam sing together. Dean looks back on the road and Sam smiles as he sings with him.  
"Dead or alive."

"Dead or ALIVE!" Sam and Jamie sing. Dean begins to lose the will to sing and his smile is beginning to fade. Jamie stops singing. Sam just continues to sing, laugh and smile, not noticing like Jamie is how Dean is suddenly taking in the lyrics, realizing how much they actually fit him and what is about to come. His smile completely vanishes, as he's staring out on the road. He glances back at Jamie, wondering if she's seen the outcome. She presses her lips together and then looks away.

"Dead or alive Dead or alive Dead or alive" The music takes over and Dean's smile is completely gone. Jamie frowns, and then notices a police car as they drive past. A siren is heard behind them and the boys and Jamie react. Dean looks up in his rearview mirror as Sam looks over at him and Jamie moves up. The flashing lights from the police car is now reflecting inside the car and over their faces.

"What the hell?" Jamie asks.

"We getting pulled over?" Sam asks, confused.

Dean looks in his sideview mirror. "I've got a busted tail-light. It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing." He rolls down his window as Jamie hands over the license and Sam gets the registration. The police officer walks up to Dean's window, flashlight in hand. "Problem officer?"

"Licence and registration, please."

Dean, not looking at him, hands out the needed papers. The officer takes and looks at it as he's talking to Dean. In the backseat Jamie winces very, very quietly.  
"Do you realise you have a tail-light out, mr Hagard? "

Dean looks up him and after a beat his face falls as he's looking at him. The officer tilts his head and shines the light on him.

"Yes.. yes sir. Uhh.. you know I've been meaning to.. take care of that." Dean slowly turns his head back towards the road in front of him, his eyes dodging back at the officer during that. "As a matter of fact... " He suddenly opens his door fast, hitting the officer in the stomach with it. Dean rushes out the car at him.

"DEAN!" Sam yells.

"Come on, Sam!" Jamie shoves at Sam's seat for him to let her out. Sam opens his door, surprised by Dean's action. Jamie scrambles out beside him. Dean punches the officer three times in the face as Sam tries to run around the car to stop him. Jamie grabs unto Sam and pushes him back against the Impala. She takes out the knife from her belt and tosses it to Dean. He catches it and thrusts it into the jaw of the officer. As we see Bobby pulling up behind the police car, the officer begins to flash within, showing that Dean just thrust the knife into a demon. Jamie presses herself against Sam, squeezing her eyes shut. Dean pulls out the knife and lets go off the demon who falls dead to the ground. He stands over him, arm behind him, panting after the fight. Sam, shocked, and Jamie move away and Sam moves up behind him. Bobby quickly runs over to them and looks down at the dead demon. He looks back up at Dean, Jamie, and Sam, surprised and shocked.

"What the hell happened?"  
"Dean just killed a demon." Jamie tells him. Sam turns to Dean.

"How'd you know?"

Dean, still breathing heavily, looks around on the ground and then turns to Sam who's still looking shocked. Jamie's eyes are wide. Dean has a look of worried on.

"He just knew." Jamie mutters.

"I just knew." Dena echoes. He turns back and looks down on the officer."I could see it's face. It's real face under that one."

Bobby who was looking down on the demon looks up at him by these words. Dean looks up at him and meets his gaze for a second.

The boys are put branches up over the police car, to hide it from plain sight and so that nobody can find it. Jamie walks up to them as they finish. Sam looks at Dean. "So what, now you're seeing demons?"

"I've seen all kinds of things lately but... nothing like this."

Jamie looks up. "Don't sound so shocked."

"Actually it's not all that crazy." Bobby says walking over to the siblings.

"How's it not that crazy?"

Bobby tilts his head. "Well you've got, just over five hours to go?"

Jamie shakes her head, not in the mood for stories. "You're piercing the veil, Dean."

"Yeah. You're glimpsing the B side."

"A little less new age-y please."

Jamie looks up. "You're almost hell's bitch. So, you can see hell's other bitches."

Dean looks first surprised and then his mock-face comes on. "Thank you."

Sam shrugs. "Well, actually it could come in pretty handy."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something."

"Damn right it is. Lilith's probably got demons stached all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we're started." Bobby tells them.

Jamie turns wiry eyes towards her father-figure. "Thanks Bobby." She crosses her arms and sighs.

"Well, this is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be apart of it. Can we go, please?" Dean begins to walk away with that and the others follow. The car is as hidden as they could managed, with branches all over it.

"It's the little girl. Her face is awful." Sam, Jamie, Bobby, and Dean are standing by a window, looking over at the family. Sam has the binoculars. Bobby, and Jamie are in the middle with Dean on Jamie's other side. Sam lowers the binoculars.

"Alright then, lets go. We're wasting time." He walks past Bobby, Jamie, and Dean, behind them, and moves for the door. Dean grabs hold of him, stopping him from leaving.

"Wait!"

"For what? For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us too if we're not carefull. Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at nine PM?" Jamie points in the direction Dean is talking about. Sam holds up the binoculars there is a mailman sorting mail at the back of his car. Jamie points again and Dean nods. "And Mr Rogers over there."

"Demons?" Bobby asks.

Jamie nods. "Yeah. Lilith's personal body guards." She glances back at Dean.

Sam looks through the binoculars again and sees an old man sitting in a chair in his home, smoking a pipe and reading a book, his chair facing the windows. "Ok, fine. We-we-we-we, we ninja pass those guys, sneak in."

Jamie turns to her twin. "Ninja? Sam…"

"Then what? Give a "columbian necktie" to a ten year old girl, come on!" Dean yells at him.

"Look, Dean, I know it's awful."

"You think?"

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody."

"She's gotta be stopped, son."

Jamie looks at Dean. "We'll figure something out. I hope."

Sam tilts his head. "Psychics can hope?"

Jamie shoves his chest. "Shut up."  
Dean who looks contemplative and taking this in, turns around and looks at Bobby and then out the window. "Oh, damn it."

"Come on, Bobby." Jamie moves away from Sam and Dead. "I just had a really good idea that might save our asses. I'll be right back."

Jamie leads Bobby down to where the waterpipes are. She takes out a rosary. Bobby looks at her and then smiles. He takes the rosary from her and holds over the pipes..

"Exorcizo te, creatura aquae. In nomine dei patris onmipotintes." They chant. Bobby drops the rosary into an opening of the water pipes and it's carried away by the stream. He turns to look at Jamie. She gives him a look and walks away.

Dean running through some trees and coming up by a fence, where Ruby suddenly appears and shoves him into the fence, holding him there. "I'd like my knife back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chickenbone."

"Dean!" Ruby turns to look at Jamie and Sam comes up behind her and holds up her knife to her throat.

"He doesn't have it. Take it easy." She backs away from Dean, releasing him from the fence. Sam and Jamie stand still next to Dean who turns around to face her.

"How the hell did you get out?"

"What you don't know about me could fill a book."

Dean suddenly reacts to her face, moving his head back just a bit with wider eyes. "Woah."

"What?" Ruby asks.

Dean looks to the side, not wanting to look at her anymore. He glances at her once or twice but that's it. "Nothing. I just- I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad."

Ruby curls her lip and then glances at Sam. "Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself."

Jamie steps forward. "Not a chance in he..no chance."

Sam nods. "You'll get it when this is over."

"It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. And I'm not gonna let you die too."

"Try and stop me, and I'll kill you. Bitch."

"Hit me with your best shot, baby."

Deans been looking in the direction he was running towards. Jamie turns to him and they look at each other. Jamie winces softly. Dean turns around to Sam and Ruby. "Guys, guys! Hey. Have your little catfight later."

A father and son are standing outside on their porch looking at Dean, Jamie, Sam and Ruby. At the next house a man with a briefcase is standing, staring at them. Jamie reaches up and grabs the sides of her head.

Sam's eyes widen. "Oh sh…"

"So much for the element of surprise." Dean scoffs.

Jamie turns to them. "Boys, we got to book it. Now."

Sam nods. "Go. Go. Run. Run!" They open the fence and run, aiming for Lilith's house. As they do multiple demons run after them. Sam reaches the house first and gets down and starts picking the lock on the door. Ruby and Dean come up behind him, looking out on the lawn as more people are running after them. Jamie is last, whirling around and holding her hands out.

"What the hell is taking Bobby?" Dean asks.

Jamie shakes her head, knowing Bobby is safe. "Forget about Bobby, I can't hold off this many demons."

Sam is having problems picking the lock and more people are running for them.

"Sam…" Ruby glances at him.

"I'm trying!"

Suddenly when one demon reaches the lawn, the sprinklers turns on and she begins to flail, screaming, as the water burns her. Jamie sighs in relief. She and Bobby succeeded in turning the water into holy water and effectively making a barrier with the sprinkler system. Another demon is caught in the water and he screams and flails as well. Jamie looks relieved. Dean has a smile starting to show on his lips. Sam is still working on the lock and Dean begins to really smile at the barrier. Sam gets the door opened and he, Jamie, and Ruby go inside. Dean laughs at the demons and then Jamie reaches out and pulls on his shirt. He walks inside the house with her.

Inside Sam and Ruby are standing over a body with shocked faces. Jamie walks in and stops. She frowns. Dean is closing the door, not having seen it yet. He turns around and sees it, and his serious gameface is on again. "You think Lilith knows we're here?"

"Probably." Ruby says.

Jamie scoffs. "Probably? How about yes." They look around a bit and then walks into the living room. Sam is going first, holding the knife out as if it was a gun. Ruby is behind him, closely followed by Dean and lastly Jamie.

The door opens up behind them and the person inside goes for Dean, who hears the creak of the door and quickly turns around, putting up one hand and captures Mr. Fremont. Jamie puts her hand over his mouth, turning them around to Sam and Ruby. Dean makes "shyshing" sounds to make the man be quiet and calm down.

Jamie puts her finger to her lips. "Shh…Hi."

"We're here to help. Ok? My sister is gonna move her hand, and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?" Dean whispers. Mr. Fremont nods his head yes and Dean nods to Jamie who slowly removes her hand.

Sam looks at him. "Sir, where is your daughter?"

"It's not... it's not her anymore."

"Where is she?"

"Upstairs. In her bedroom."

Jamie turns around. "Sam, Ruby." She nods over her shoulder.

"Okay, okay, okay. Listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?" Dean whispers.

"Not without my wife."

"Yes, without your wife."

"No."

"Dean, we don't have time for this." Dean punches his lights out. Jamie is right; they don't have time to argue about all this. He picks him up and puts him over his shoulder and gives the others a look. He then starts walking.

Sam, Jamie, and Ruby walk upstairs, backs against the wall and as stealthy as possible. Sam is in the lead with the knife in front of him. When they get up they look around a bit and then Ruby walks to the door to their right, they share a look, Sam nods at her and then she goes in, closing the door behind her. Sam and Jamie starts slowly for the door to the left. Jamie leans in against the closed door, closing her eyes. After a beat she looks at Sam and he opens the door as quietly as possible. They quickly slip in.

Sam walks slowly into the room, knife out in front of him. Jamie follows quietly, holding unto Sam's shirt. They see Lilith's bed. It has thin drapes around it and through them Mrs. Fremont and Lilith are lying on the bed, asleep. Sam slowly makes his way around it while keeping his eyes glued to them. Jamie makes her way around on the other side, drawing her gun, despite knowing it won't work on Lilith. As Sam rounds the corner of the bed he shifts the knife in his hand so it's now in a stabbing position. As quietly and slowly as possible, he and Jamie remove the drapes and they hear Mrs. Fremont breathing heavily, scared, as the twins come into view. Lilith is still nuzzled into her shoulder, apparently asleep.

"Do it!" Mrs. Fremont says quietly. Sam slowly raises the knife, looking down on the child Lilith has possessed. She stirs a little.

Jamie's eyes widen. "Sam…"

"Do it."

Sam is looking at Lilith, trying to collect himself to stab a child. Jamie swallows hard. She looks at Sam and slowly holds her hand out, palm up.

"Do it! "

Lilith moves a little, apparently starting to wake up. Mrs. Fremont gets more and more afraid and panicked and Sam is staring at Lilith, pulling himself to the point of stabbing her.

"Do it! Do it!"

"Sam!"  
Lilith wakes up, and starts to rise on the bed, eyes hardly opened.

"Hurry!"

"Now Sammy, now!"

Lilith screams when she opens her eyes and sees Sam who lunges for her. At the last moment he's stopped by Dean who grabs hold of his arm. "It's not her!"

"What?" Jamie looks down at the girl. Her eyes widen and she lowers her gun, putting it away. The girl is breathing fast and heavily from what was just about to happen. Ruby is now standing behind Sam, Jamie, and Dean.

"It's not in the girl anymore." Dean says.

The Fremont girls begins to cry. "Mommy! Mommy!"

"Mommy's here. Mommy's here. It's ok." The girl cries. Jamie breaths heavily, looking at Sam and Dean. Dean looks defeated. Sam looks spooked.

They all come down the stairs, Mrs. Fremont, Jamie, and Dean first. "Come on, we have to hurry." Jamie tells them.

"Alright, no matter what you hear. You, your husband and your daughter stay in the basement." Dean adds. She goes through the basement door and Dean and Jamie follow. They go down into the basement and Jamie hands Dean a canister of salt. They get out of the doorway and pour the salt around the door before handing it to Mrs. Fremont.

"Come on, Jamie." Dean grabs ahold of Jamie's arm and they head back up the stairs. They can hear Ruby and Sam talking.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

"To save Dean." Dean and Jamie come up behind Sam. "What do you need me to do?"

Dean grabs him from behind, trying to turn him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sam pulls loose from Dean. "Just shut up for a second. Ruby!"

"You had your chance. You can't just flip a switch. We needed time."

"Well, there's gotta be something. There's gotta be some way, whatever it is, I'll do it."

"Sam!" Jamie yells.

Dean comes up behind him again, grabbing him.

"Don't Dean! I'm not gonna let you go to hell!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No!" Jamie screams. They look all at each other for a beat.

"Yes, you are." Dean says, calmer this time. Sam and Jamie just stare at him, breathing. "I'm sorry. I mean this is all my fault, I know that. But what you're doing, it's not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you." Sam looks away for a second, tears building in his eyes. Jamie closes her eyes, looking away.

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" Sam asks.

"What are we suppose to do?" Jamie echoes.

Dean looks at them for a second, thoughtful. "Keep fighting. Sam, take care of my wheels. Jamie, stay strong and vigilant. Remember what dad taught you... ok?" Sam nods, holding his tears back. Jamie can't hold it in anymore and wraps her arms around Dean's neck. "And remember what I taught you. Both of you."

As tears build in Dean's eyes they hear the grandfather clock tick and then begin to strike midnight. Jamie sobs into Dean's shoulder. Dean looks over at the clock and then looks over at Sam, who's also watching the grandfather clock. He turns his head, tears spilling down his cheeks, and looks at Dean. Dean gives him a little smile as he tries to keep himself calm and hold back his tears. He wraps his arms around Jamie and then pushes her back towards Sam.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy." Ruby tells him, somberly.

Jamie's eyes widen in horror. "Dean…" Dean's face falls as he turns around to where he hears the hellhounds howling. Jamie can hear them too. Sam looks at his siblings and then looks in the same direction understanding that something's up. Dean and Jamie can both hear the growling hellhound again.

"Hellhound." Dean says, trying to stay calm.

"Where?" Sam swallows.

Jamie nods. "There."

Ruby's face falls as she sees it. As it begins to move, Dean bolts out of the room, followed by the others, and the hellhound quickly behind them. Jamie raises her hands, blowing the doors to another room open. They run into the room and close the doors fast in the face of the hellhound.

Dean takes out the bag with goofer dust as Sam and Ruby are standing against the doors, holding the shut while the hellhound is pounding to get in. Jamie has her hands up trying to telekinetically hold the doors closed. Dean runs over and throws himself down at the floor by the door and frantically starts pouring out the dust. The pounding suddenly stops, Jamie drops her hands, for a second they all stand and sit still, then Dean bolts for the window and pours out the dust on the windowsill.

Jamie looks at the door. "Trapped." She wipes tears off her face and takes a shaky breath. Dean looks over at her.

Rubby turns to Sam. "Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off."

Sam looks at her, a bit confused. "What?"

"Come on! That dust won't last forever."

Dean turns around and looks at them from behind Sam. Jamie turns and looks at them from behind Ruby. After a few seconds Sam takes out the knife, about to hand it to Ruby.

"Wait!" Dean holds his hand out.

Jamie does the same. "Sam, no."

Sam turns around to Dean, looking at him. Jamie walks forward.

"You wanna die?" Ruby asks.

"The knife, Dean, the knife!" Jamie makes a gesture for it with her telekinesis.

"Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!" Dean says at the same time.

Sam turns back to Ruby and goes to stab her, but Ruby uses telekinesis to fling him hard up against the wall, pinning him. He drops the knife and it falls to the floor. Jamie goes for it. Ruby flings her hard against the opposite wall. She then hits Dean and flings him on top of the table, pinning him. Dean grunts as he holds up his head so he can look at Ruby. Sam looks from Dean to Jamie to Ruby.

"You bitch!" Jamie struggles but cannot move.

"Took you long enough Jamie."

"How long you been in her?" Dean asks.

Ruby's entire facial expression changes and becomes childlike. Lilith has taken over the body Ruby possessed. "Not long." She looks down on her body as she speaks. "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty." She looks up at Dean again, her eyes turning white.

"And where's Ruby?" Sam asks, struggling against the wall. Lilith's eyes turns back to normal.

"She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away." She tilts her head step by step and we hear her neck crunch with each tilting motion.

Jamie looks up. "You know, I should have seen it before... but you all give me the same damn headache." Lilith chuckles and walks over to Jamie. "You're the one who killed AJ."

Lilith smiles. "Yes." She stands in front of Jamie.

Jamie stares at her with a look of anger and pain. Her muscles contract as she tries to fight Lilith's hold. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica!"

Lilith laughs. "You really think you can exorcise me, Jamie?" She waves her hand and Jamie screams.

"Jamie!" Dean yells.

"No! No! No!" Jamie cries.

Sam tries to look at his sister. "Jamie! Dean, what did she do to her? What did she do?"

Dean struggles to look at Jamie. Jamie's eyes are white. "She blinded her."

"I'm keeping her from turning her pesky little tricks." Lilith laughs again.

"I can still see you, bitch. I have eyes that are not mine." Jamie says, raising her head. She cannot physically see, but her psychic ability kicks in, allowing her to see with her mind what is going on. After a beat Lilith snaps her head to Sam, who looks over at her. She starts walking slowly towards him.

"Hello Sam. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She grabs hold of his chin, forcing him to face her. Against his will she gives him a kiss and it sizzles from their lips meeting. "Your lips are soft."

Sam moves his head up and to the side, trying to get loose from her hand. "Right, so you have me. Let my brother and sister go." He looks down on her.

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't. I have you. I have Dean. I have the one who got away."

Jamie's head snaps up. "How dare you call me that!"

Dean tries to raise his head. "So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell. Kill Sam and Jamie. And then what? Become queen bitch?"

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow."

Dean is clearly in pain on the table, trying to hold himself up against her restraint. Lilith suddenly moves from Sam, as she looks at Dean, and walks over to the door while Dean follows her with his eyes.

In Jamie's mind she sees Lilith going for the door. "No! Dean!"

Dean glances at Jamie. Lilith grabs hold of the doorhandle and while looking at Dean exclaims: "Sick 'em, boy."

Sam snaps his head to Dean at this and Dean looks over at him and then at the door. Jamie is struggling as hard as possible, but she cannot move or see to stop the door from opening. Lilith opens the door and the goofer dust blows away as the hellhound gets him. Lilith just laughs and smiles. The hellhound grabs Dean by his legs and pulls him down as he screams. It begins to rip him as Sam stands against the wall, helpless, scared and panicked. Jamie stands against the opposite wall. She's crying and struggling to get free to no avail.

"No! Stop!" Sam yells.

Lilith just looks over at Sam and Jamie and then down at Dean who's struggling on the floor. The hound has already slashed his right leg and is now attacking his chest as he screams in pain. He turns over to his stomach.

"NO! Please, no. Please."

"STOP IT!" Sam and Jamie beg.

Lilith just watches with a little smile on her face. The hound slashes Dean on his back and his shoulder.

"Dean! Oh god." Jamie sobs.

"No!" Sam cries.

Dean flips over and it slashes him over his chest, blood gushing out. Sam just watches in horror. Jamie cries.

"No."  
"No. Stop it."

Dean is fighting his last breathes now.

"STOP IT!" Sam screams.

The blood pours out of Dean's chest and he's not screaming anymore, but still not dead.

"Dean!" Jamie yells.

"NO!"

Lilith smiles at Sam. "Yes." She holds out her hand and suddenly white light erupts from it. As it builds up Jamie stops crying. She opens her eyes, which are still white but she curls her hands into fists. Sam turns his head, eyes closed. Suddenly her white light is retracted, her eyes are still white but slowly turns back to normal, and she looks confused and shocked. Jamie drops down to the floor. She blinks and her eyes are back to normal. Sam is on the floor, huddled in a corner next to a cabinet, holding his hands up infront of his face. When he notices nothing happened and the light is gone he slowly takes down his hands, looks up at her and rises up to a standing position. He glances across the room to Jamie. Jamie gets up. Lilith looks at the floor, afraid. She holds out her hands and looks at him and then to Jamie. "Back." Jamie waves her hand and Lilith's arm falls to her side. Sam takes a breath and starts walking towards her. "I said, back."

Jamie looks down at the floor and sees Ruby's knife. She flicks her finger and it flies into her hand. Sam, with a determined look on his face walks over to his sister. Lilith looks very afraid of them now, as they just look determined and hateful.

"I don't think so." Sam says, calmly.

Jamie's eyes are full of hatred, anger, and sadness. "I'll see you in hell, bitch."

Sam grabs unto Lilith. Jamie pulls back her hand, and motions to stab her but suddenly Lilith exits Ruby's body. The black smoke goes out of her body as she screams, and Ruby's body collapses. Sam lets go of her and she crumbles to the floor. Jamie's hand drops to her side. Dean isn't moving, his eyes opened. He's dead. Sam and Jamie look down on him breathing heavily. With tears building up quickly Sam and Jamie slowly walk over to Dean. Jamie starts crying as she drops to the floor beside Dean's body. Sam begins to cry as he bends down next to him. He picks up Dean, holding his head close to him. Jamie buries her face in Dean's shoulder.

"God, no!" Jamie screams.

"No... No.. Dean..." Sam sobs.

They cry and mourn their brother.

"Dean..." Jamie says softly. She reaches up and closes Dean's eyes.

Through Dean's eyes everything appears green and cloudy. There are chains everywhere, stretched from place to place that he cannot clearly see. He hears rumbles that sound like thunder, and sees flashes like lightening, and screams. Hooks protrude from his arms, shoulders, and legs. His skin is covered with blood and sweat. His mouth fills with blood as he screams again "Help! No! Somebody help me!" He is beyond terrified, the pain is so intense, so ungodly, and all he think about are his siblings somewhere unknown to him. "Jamie!" He yells for his sister, hoping beyond hope that somehow her psychic abilities can perforate even the mouth of hell itself. Everything is going black, and then he screams the one name that means more to him then life itself. "SAAAAAAAM!"


	12. 401 Lazarus Rising

There are quick flashes of Dean being tormented, his eyes flicking back and forth, his face covered in blood.

Suddenly Jamie sits straight up and gasps for breath. "Dean!" Tears stream down her face. "I'm sorry big brother, I'm so sorry." She says quietly as she pulls the blanket off her and gets up. She looks thinner and her eyes have dark circles. Her hair, strawberry blonde and grown out, is up in a messy ponytail. She changes into ripped up jeans and goes over to Dean's bag, which lies in the corner of her room. She takes out one of Dean's black t-shirts and pulls it on. It's baggy on her frame. After a moment she picks up Dean's leather jacket and slips it on. She sniffs in the scent. A tear falls down her cheek.

She looks into the mirror and suddenly gasps and puts her hand on her head. She sees flashes of trees, laying on the ground as if an unearthly powerful blast had felled them. Opening her eyes she grabs her chest. "Dean…" She whispers, her eyes widening. They fall on the keys on the table. She grabs them and rushes out of the room.

As she drives she suddenly has a flash of Dean, his chest torn open by hellhounds. She breaths heavily, a tear falling down her cheek. She gets more flashes of Dean's suffering in hell. An hour goes by when she sees her phone go off, an unknown number popping up. She glances back at the road and lets it go to voicemail. The caller doesn't leave a message, but her heart is pounding in her chest. She sees a gas station and grabs unto her chest again. She can already see a figure in the phone booth turning towards her.

Jamie's black pick-up pulls up to the gas station. Dean's eyes light up. He goes out to her. Jamie gets out of the truck and looks at him. He grins, opening his arms. "You son of a bitch." Jamie stalks towards him and slaps him across the face.

"Ow."

"Dean." She wraps her arms around him and holds him tight. He hugs her back. She buries her face into his shoulder, taking in the feel, the smell of him.

"Yeah. I'm happy to see you too." He holds her close to him, his chin on her head. For a long time they don't speak, until finally Dean pulls back to look at her. "Is that my shirt?"

Jamie pulls back and glances down. She glances up at him and shrugs. "You weren't using it."

There's a pounding on the door, and Bobby's hand appears to open it. On the doorstep is Jamie. Dean is standing behind her looking winded and apprehensive. He smiles cautiously. Bobby looks at them suspiciously.

"Surprise." Dean says.

Jamie is looking straight at Bobby. "I told you."

Bobby stares wide-eyed at the siblings. "I, I don't..."

Dean nods, understanding. "Yeah, me neither." He and Jamie enter the house. "But here I am."

Behind his back, Bobby takes a silver knife. As Dean approaches, Bobby lunges forward and slashes at him. Dean grabs his arm and twists it around; Bobby breaks the grip and backhands him in the face. Jamie grabs Bobby's arm and pulls him backward. "Bobby!"

"Bobby! It's me!" Dean holds his hands up innocently.

"My ass! Get off me Jamie!" Jamie tightens her grip as Dean shoves a chair between himself and the angry hunter.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and... you're about the closest thing I have to a father. Bobby. It's me." Dean pleads. Jamie finally lets go of him. Bobby lowers the knife, steps forward slowly. He places a hand gently on Dean's shoulder. Suddenly he slashes again, but Dean quickly subdues and disarms him. "I am not a shapeshifter!"

"Then you're a Revenant!" Bobby accuses. Jamie sighs and rolls her eyes. Dean shoves Bobby away, having taken the knife. He holds it out in front of him and locks eyes with his sister. After a moment Jamie nods.

"Alright. If I was either, could I do this – with a silver knife?" Dean rolls up his left sleeve, and, grimacing, slices his arm above the elbow with the knife. A line of blood appears.

Bobby watches, starting to believe it. "Dean?"

Jamie smirks as she walks over to her brother. "In the flesh. Literally." She picks up a clean rag and ties it around Dean's arm. She holds his arm up, close to his chest to stop the bleeding.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

Bobby breaks, grabbing Dean and Jamie both in for a tight hug. Dean returns the hug with enthusiasm, relief on his face. They pull apart.

"It's... It's good to see you, boy."

"Yeah, you too."

"But... how did you bust out?"

Bobby and Dean look at Jamie. The blonde holds her hands up innocently. "I know nothing. I swear."

Dean shakes his head. "I don't know. I just, uh, I just woke up in a pine box..."

Suddenly, Bobby pulls out a bottle and goes to splash water in Dean's face. Jamie, startled, holds her hand out and sends the bottle flying. Water splashes on both her and Dean. Dean pauses, spits and looks at his sister. Jamie shrugs. He looks back at Bobby. "I'm not a demon either, you know."

Bobby shrugs, getting a towel. They go further into the house, Dean wipes his face with a towel and hands it to Jamie. "But... that don't make a lick of sense."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're preachin' to the choir."

Bobby stops and looks at Dean. "Dean. Your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop. And you've been buried _four months_. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit –"

"I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject."

"What do you remember?"

"Not much. I remember I was a Hellhound's chew toy, and then... lights out. Then I come to six feet under, that was it." Bobby sits as Dean talks.

"You're lying." Jamie mutters from against the doorway where she was leaning.

Bobby perks up. "What?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Nevermind." She gives Dean a look. Dean frowns.

"So uh…Sam's number's not working. He's, uh... he's not..."

Bobby looks back at Dean. "Oh, he's alive. As far as I know."

Jamie moves closer to them. "Of course he's alive."

"Good... Wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?"

"I haven't talked to him for months."

Dean looks surprised. He turns to Jamie. "Neither have I." She tells him.

"You're kidding, you just let him go off by himself? Jamie, what about that twin thing you two have? What happened to that?"

Jamie avoids his eyes. She runs her fingers absentmindedly along the table. "Sam and I had a falling out."

"Why? What happened?"

Jamie glances at Bobby and then at the floor. "He wouldn't let me deal."

"What?" Dean stares at his sister.

"He was dead set on leaving." Bobby speaks up to get the heat off Jamie.

Dean turns back to him. "Bobby, you should've been looking after him."

Bobby stands up at the accusation. "I tried. These last months haven't been exactly easy, you know. For any of us. We had to bury you."

Dean stops, considering something. "Why did you bury me, anyway?"

"I wanted you salted and burned. Usual drill. But... Sam and Jamie wouldn't have it."

Dean looks at his sister. "Well, I'm glad you won that one."

Jamie shrugs. "I said you'd need a body when we got you back home somehow."

"And that's about all Sam said." Bobby adds.

Dean nods turning back to Jamie. "Yeah about that. What do you mean, he wouldn't let you deal?"

Jamie scoffs. "I'm the one who got away. If anyone's soul had a hefty price tag on it, it would be mine. I'm the one whose worth something. If we were gonna get you back, it would be with my soul."

"JAMIE!" Dean grabs his sister by the shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, Dean! You were dead! You left me! All I knew was that my big brother was in a freakin pine box and I could do something about it!"

Tears fall Jamie's face. Dean stares at her. Bobby grabs Dean's shoulders. "Sam didn't let Jamie deal. He stopped her. Then he took off."

Jamie looks away. "I tried to find him, but he didn't want to be found."

Dean sighs, stepping back from his sister. "Oh, damnit, Sammy."

"What?" Jamie stares up at him.

"Oh, he got me home okay. But whatever he did, it is bad mojo."

"What makes you so sure?"

Jamie gets an odd look in her eyes. "The trees."

Dean looks at her and then at Bobby. "You should have seen the grave site. It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this... this force, this presence, I don't know, but it, it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this." He strips his overshirt, pulls up his sleeve to reveal the brand.

Bobby leaps up. "What in the hell?"

Jamie's eyes widen. "Dean…"

"It was like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out."

"But why?"

"To hold up their end of the bargain." Dean says automatically.

Bobby and Jamie look at each other. "You think Sam made a deal." Bobby says. "To protect Jamie."

Dean shrugs. "It's what I would have done."

Jamie sighs. "I haven't…I don't know for sure that Sam did that. I mean, I would probably know if he did…But…Dean I don't have any other explanation for how you got out. I just know I woke the morning and…I had a feeling. So I drove out and found my brother alive. No vision of you rising from hell, no weird psychic thing, just a feeling."

Dean nods. "Well, all I know is we have to find Sam." He takes out his phone and dials a number. Jamie goes into the kitchen and gets the laptop. "Yeah, hi, I have a cell phone account with you guys, and uh, I lost my phone. I was wondering if you could turn the GPS on for me. Yeah. Name's Wedge Antilles. Social is 2-4-7-4. Thank you." DEAN hangs up the phone and crosses to the laptop on the table.

Bobby looks impressed. "How'd you know he'd use that name?"

"You kiddin' me? What don't I know about that kid?" The laptop is open to a web browser; Dean types in the address for ARC MOBILE. He sees liquor bottles scattered around and picks one up. "Hey, Bobby? What's the deal with the liquor store? What, are your parents out of town or something?"

Bobby glances over. "Ask your sister."

Dean looks at Jamie.

"Don't ask your sister." She says, her voice level. "Sam's in Pontiac, Illinois." The laptop beeps, and Dean turns to it. The display shows a city map with a blue arrow pointing to a star. The locator reads:

Phone Location:  
263 Adams Road  
Pontiac, Illinois.

Bobby glances at it. "Right near where you were planted."

"Right where I popped up. Hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" Dean looks up at Jamie. She stares at him.

Dean, Jamie, and Bobby walk down a dingy motel hallway and knock on a door with the number 207 inside a red heart. The door is opened by a beautiful young woman with dark hair, wearing only a tank top and underwear. She looks at them expectantly. "So where is it?"

Dean looks at Bobby, confused. "Where's what?"

"The pizza... that takes three people to deliver?"

Jamie eyes the woman and then looks at Dean.

Dean looks back at her. "I think we got the wrong room." Sam steps into the light. He is grim and focused, and wears a grey t-shirt and jeans.

"Hey, is..." He stops dead when he sees Dean. He swallows, shocked, his eyes flicking between Dean, Jamie and Bobby.

Dean's voice almost breaks. "Heya, Sammy."

Sam is silent. Dean steps into the room, ignoring the woman, who steps aside to let him in. As Dean gets close, Sam pulls a knife and lunges at Dean. The woman screams; Jamie knocks her back as she steps into the room. Dean blocks Sam's attack and Jamie pulls Sam off, gripping him around the shoulders. Sam struggles. "Who are you?!" Sam yells.

"Like you didn't do this?!" Dean yells back.

"Do what?!"

"Stop it you two, right now." Jamie grunts as Sam struggles in her arms.

Bobby walks over to Sam. "It's him. It's him. I've been through this already, it's _really_ him."

Sam stares at Dean. "What..."

Dean advances cautiously, staring at Sam. "I know. I look fantastic, huh?"

Jamie lets go of Sam, who looks on the verge of tears as he steps forward and pulls Dean into a desperate hug. Dean pulls Jamie in and they embrace for several seconds, heavy with emotion, as Bobby looks on with tears in his eyes. Sam pushes Dean and Jamie back to arm's length. The woman is looking on, looking confused.

"So are you like... together?"

"What? No. No. He's my brother." Sam stops for a beat and glances at Jamie. "And she's my sister."

"Uh... got it. I... I guess. Look, I should probably go."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sorry."

Sam, now wearing a white button-down, opens the door to let the woman, now dressed in a blue plaid shirt, out. Jamie walks in, no longer wearing Dean's jacket but Sam's brown plaid button down instead.

"So, call me."

"Yeah. Yeah, sure thing, Kathy."

"Kristy." Jamie and the woman say at the same time. She raises an eyebrow at Jamie. Jamie shrugs with a smirk.

"Right." She leaves, and Sam shuts the door. He turns back to Jamie whose smirking. "Don't say anything." Jamie snickers as they walk back into the room and sit down. Dean is standing above them, arms crossed. He and Bobby are both looking at Sam suspiciously.

"So tell me, what'd it cost?" Dean asks.

Sam grins. "The girl? I don't pay, Dean."

"That's not funny, Sam. To bring me back. What'd it cost? Was it just your soul, or was it something worse?"

"You think I made a deal?"

"That's exactly what they think." Jamie says, picking at her nails.

Sam turns to her. "What do you think?"

"You tell me."

"Well, I didn't."

Dean stares darkly at Sam. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

Dean advances toward him. "So what now, I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it? You're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this."

Jamie stands up. "Dean, easy."

Sam stands up. "Look, Dean, I wish I had done it, all right?" He says angrily.

Dean grabs Sam by the front of his shirt. "You did it to keep Jamie from doing it, right?"

"I was trying to protect her."

"I'm standing right here!"

"By dealing yourself in instead? There's no other way that this could have gone down. Now tell the truth!"

Sam breaks Dean's grip. "I tried everything. That's the truth. I tried opening the Devil's Gate. Hell, I tried to bargain, Dean, but no demon would deal, all right? You were rotting in Hell for months. For months, and I couldn't stop it. So I'm sorry it wasn't me, all right? Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean finally relents. "It's okay, Sammy. You don't have to apologize, I believe you." Jamie looks at him. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Jamie."

Bobby finally speaks up. "Don't get me wrong, I'm gladdened that Sam's soul remains intact, but it does raise a sticky question."

"If he didn't pull me out, then what did?"

Jamie runs her hand through her hair and sits down. "Oh god."

SAM passes out bottles of beer, then sits across from Dean. The older brother turns and looks at him. "So what were you doing around here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?"

Sam pauses. "Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you, I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback."

Bobby raises an eyebrow. "All by yourself. Who do you think you are, your old man?" Bobby asks accusingly. Jamie scoffs a little and Bobby glances at her. "Or your sister."

Jamie smirks at that comment. Dean sees something, frowns, and crosses towards it. Sam looks down. "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry. I should have called. I was pretty messed up." Dean picks up what he'd seen, a pink flowered bra. He holds it up.

"Oh yeah. I really feel your pain. No excuse to abandon big brother duties though." Dean and Sam both look over at Jamie.

Jamie gets an irritated look on her face. " First of all, I'm 24. You think because my boyfriend is dead I can't handle myself? Second of all," She gestures wildly to Sam. "He is not my big brother, and he never will be."

Dean smirks a little. Sam looks away. "Anyways, uh, I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here."

"When?" Dean asks.

"Yesterday morning."

"When I busted out."

Bobby turns to Dean. "You think these demons are here 'cause of you?"

"But why?" Sam asks.

"Well, I don't know – some badass demon drags me out and now this? It's gotta be connected somehow."

Jamie looks over at Dean. "How you feeling, anyway?"

"I'm a little hungry."

"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange, or different?"

"Or demonic? Jamie, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Bobby."

"Yeah. Well, listen. No demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts. They've gotta have something nasty planned." Bobby explains.

"Well, I feel fine."

Sam gets up. "Okay, look, we don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel. We need help. Jamie, you know nothing?"

Jamie stares up at him. "Like I told Dean…I didn't see what pulled him out. I didn't even see him. I just felt it."

"You try getting in Dean's head?"

"Hey!"

"Yes. And nothing is in there that tells me anything."

Dean gets a weird look. "Oh."

Bobby gets up. "I know a psychic. A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking."

"Hell yeah, it's worth a shot."

"I'll be right back." Bobby leaves. Jamie and Dean get up. Sam puts his hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Hey, probably want this back." Sam reaches into his shirt and pulls out a cord. It's Dean's amulet. He takes it off and places it in Dean's hand. Dean looks at it, touched.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it." He watches Dean put the necklace on. "Hey Dean, what was it like?"

Dean is taken aback a little. "What, Hell? I don't know, I, I must have blacked it out. I don't remember a damn thing."

Sam nods. "Well, thank God for that."

"Yeah."

He and Sam turn away. Jamie stares at Dean's back. "Liar." She whispers quietly.

A little bit later, Sam is asleep in a chair. Jamie is asleep in his bed. Dean gets up and goes into the bathroom. Jamie opens her eyes. She sees Dean's bloody, terrified face, with screams and eerie sounds. She gasps softly, getting up and walking over to the bathroom. She waves her hand just a little and the bathroom door swings open, startling Dean who has been standing in the mirror. They both stare at each other, gasping.

"Jamie." Dean whispers.

Just then the door to the room opens, waking Sam and revealing Bobby. "Come on, time to go." Bobby says. Dean walks past Jamie and grabs Sam's bag. Jamie puts Sam's shirt back on and unrolls the sleeves down her elbows. Dean follows Bobby outside, but Sam hangs back, watching Jamie.

"You cold?" he finally asks.

"Dean took his jacket back." She says flatly as she walks past him. They go outside.

"She's about four hours down the Interstate. Try to keep up." Bobby gets in his car.

"I assume you'll want to drive." Sam pulls the keys out of his right pocket and tosses them at Dean, who catches them easily.

Dean chuckles. "Oh, I almost forgot!" he approaches the Impala and runs a hand along it lovingly. "Hey, sweetheart, did you miss me?" He gets in the driver's side, settles in. He sees an iPod plugged into the stereo, pauses, and gives it a dirty look. Jamie leans in from the backseat. Sam gets into the passenger's seat, smiling. Dean glares at him. "What the hell is that?"

"That's an iPod jack."

"You were supposed to take care of her, not douche her up."

"Dean, I thought it was my car."

"Jamie, if I die again, the car goes to you."

"Heh." Jamie snickers.

Dean sneers, sighs, and turns the key in the ignition. "Vision" by Jason Manns begins to play. Dean rolls his eyes and glares at Sam again, looking pained. "Really?"

SAM shrugs innocently. Dean rips the iPod out of the jack and tosses it back to Jamie who puts it on the seat beside her.

They drive for awhile before Dean speaks up. "There's still one thing that's bothering me."

Sam leans over. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, the night that I bit it. Or... got bit." he chuckles at his own wit. "How'd you two make it out? I thought Lilith was going to kill you."

"Well, she tried. She couldn't."

"What do you mean, she couldn't?"

Jamie leans forward. "She fired this, like, burning light at Sam, and... didn't leave a scratch."

Sam nods. "It was like I was immune or something."

"Immune?"

"Yeah. I don't know who was more surprised, her or me. Then Jamie was back to normal, and she can't touch either of us. She left pretty fast after that."

"Huh. What about Ruby, where is she?"

"Dead." Sam replies.

"For now." Jamie adds.

Dean bites his lip, like he's not sure he wants to ask. "So you've been using your, uh, freaky ESP stuff?"

"No."

"You sure about that? Well, I mean, now that you've got... immunity, whatever the hell that is... just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you've got going on."

"Nothing, Dean. Look, you didn't want me to go down that road, so I didn't go down that road. It was practically your dying wish."

"Yeah, well, let's keep it that way."

Sam broods. Jamie sighs.

The sun is up when they finally reach the house. They knock on the door, and Pamela opens it. She is in her thirties, strong and beautiful with a ready smile and dark hair. "Bobby!" She grabs him into a hug, lifting him briefly off the ground. Sam, Jamie, and Dean share a look.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." Bobby tells her.

Pamela steps back and looks Sam, Jamie, and Dean up and down appraisingly. "So, these the Winchesters?"

Bobby nods. "Sam, Jamie, Dean. This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state."

"Hey." Dean says, flirting a little.

"Hi." Sam replies, a little awkward.

Jamie just rolls her eyes. "Hello."

Pamela looks Dean up and down. "Mmm-mmm-mmm. Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual."

"If you say so."

"Come on in." Pamela ushers them in, first Bobby, then Dean, then Jamie, then Sam, and shuts the door behind them.

"So, you hear anything?" Bobby asks.

"Well, I Ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits. No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why."

"So what's next?"

"A séance, I think. See if we can see who did the deed."

"You're not gonna... summon the damn thing here."

"No. I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal."

Dean nods. "I'm game."

Pamela leads them into another room and spreads a black tablecloth covered in symbols over a small table. Jamie, Sam and Dean look at it warily; Dean cocks his head as Pamela squats in front of a cabinet, revealing a scrawled tattoo across her lower back that reads: Jesse Forever

"Who's Jesse?" He asks.

Pamela laughs. "Well, it wasn't forever."

"His loss."

Pamela stands with several pillar candles in her hands, stops in front of Dean with a smirk. "Might be your gain." As she passes by, Dean turns to Sam and lowers his voice.

"Dude, I am so in."

Sam smirks. "Yeah, she's gonna eat you alive."

"Hey, I just got out of jail. Bring it."

Jamie looks at her brothers. "Will you two shut up."

Pamela passes by and winks at Sam. "You're invited too, grumpy."

Dean looks at Sam. "You are NOT invited."

Jamie smirks. Pamela walks over to her. "Jamie, I could use your help."

"Ew…" Dean says quietly as Jamie follows the psychic.

Later Pamela, Bobby, Sam, Jamie, and Dean are seated around the small table, which now has six lighted candles in the center. "Right. Take each other's hands." Pam instructs. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." She slides her hand along Dean's inner thigh. He jumps.

"Whoa. Well, he didn't touch me there."

"My mistake."

Dean looks around, nervous, then takes off his outer shirt, pulls up his left t-shirt sleeve to reveal the brand. Sam stares at it, shocked, looks at Bobby and Jamie. Pamela lays her hand on the brand.

"Okay." All five close their eyes as she begins to chant. "I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle.  
I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle." a television flicks on to static; she continues. "I invoke, conjure, and command... Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy."

"Castiel?" Dean asks.

"It's name." Jamie tells him.

"It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." white noise and static continues, and the table begins to shake. "I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face. I conjure and command you, show me your face."

As the white noise and rattling become more violent, Bobby speaks up. "Maybe we should stop."

Pamela shakes her head. "I almost got it. I command you, show me your face! Show me your face now!"

Jamie suddenly tenses. "NO!" She screams dropping Dean and Sam's hands and opening her eyes. Suddenly the candles flare up several feet in the air and Pamela begins to scream. Her eyes fly open and are filled with a white-hot flame. She collapses; the rattling, white noise, and flames die out. Jamie rubs her eyes, breathing heavily as she falls back.

Bobby catches Pamela and lowers her to the floor. "Call 9-1-1!"

SAM scrambles out of his chair and into the next room. Dean crouches over Pamela, Jamie, and Bobby. He grabs unto Jamie, turning her around and looks her up and down. She's okay. He holds her tight. Pamela is conscious, but bleeding and burned. Her eyelids fly open to reveal black, empty sockets. She sobs. "I can't see! I can't see! Oh god!"

That night Dean is sitting at a diner table giving his order to a Waitress. Jamie is sitting beside him, her face in her hands.

"Be up in a jiff." The waitress says. As she leaves, Sam enters, talking on his cell phone.

"You bet." He says into the phone as he sits down.

"What'd Bobby say?" Dean asks.

"Pam's stable. And out of I.C.U."

Jamie looks up, taking her hands down from her face. "And blind, because of us."

Dean puts his hand on her back. "Yeah, did you get anything right before….that happened?

Jamie shakes her head. "No."

"Great, we still have no clue who we're dealing with." Sam says.

Dean leans back. "That's not entirely true."

"No?"

"We got a name. Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."

"You're crazy. Absolutely not." Sam shakes his head. Jamie looks away.

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face?" She glances quickly at Sam and then back to their big brother.

"You got a better idea?" Dean eyes both his siblings whirly.

Sam nods. "Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. I followed some demons to town, right?"

"Okay."

"So, we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something."

The Waitress reappears with three plates of pie. She sets them on the table. "Thanks." Jamie says softly. As she looks up the Waitress then plops down in a chair at the end of the table. Dean looks at her, smirking.

"You angling for a tip?"

"Dean." Jamie grabs her brother's arm.

"I'm sorry. Thought you were looking for us." The waitress's eyes go demon-black for a moment; a uniformed man by the counter and a cook behind the counter also show the demon-black; the man goes to the door, locks it, and stands in front of it.

The Waitress's eyes go back to normal. "Dean. To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck."

"That's me."

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special?"

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples. I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right. You don't."

"No. I don't."

"Lying's a sin, you know."

"I'm not lying. But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo..."

"Mind your tone with me, boy. I'll drag you back to hell myself."

Jamie grips Dean's arm harder. Sam, who has been staring daggers at the waitress through this exchange, shifts as if to attack. Dean holds a hand up and Sam stops, settles back into his seat.

"No, you won't."

"No?"

"No. Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade that they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs."

Dean leans forward, a challenge in his eyes. Jamie lets go of him and he throws a right hook at the demon, which she takes. He throws another. She still does nothing but glare at them, looking more and more nervous.

"That's what I thought. Let's go, guys." They stand, and the demon sits there, fuming. Dean pulls a roll of cash out of his pocket and carefully peels off a ten dollar bill. He holds it up and drops it on the table like an insult. "For the pie." He wraps an arm around his sister's shoulders and pulls his brother's shirt with his other hand. The Winchesters stalk out of the diner and across the street, tense and quick. "Holy crap, that was close."

Sam glances back. "We're not just going to leave them in there, are we, Dean?"

"Sam are you serious?" Jamie asks.

"Well yeah, there's three of them, probably more, and we've only got one knife between us."

"Correction. I have one knife, and you two have nothing."

Sam looks at his sister. "You have the knife?"

The knife floats out of Jamie's belt and then flies back in. Dean and Sam are both impressed.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Sam is determined not to be one uped. "I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately."

Dean smirks. "Not anymore – the smarter brother's back in town."

"Dean, we've got to take 'em. They are dangerous."

"They're scared. Okay? Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad mofo here. One job at a time."

Jamie stops, watching her brothers walk off. "This is not going to end well."

Later that night Dean is dozing on the bed in their motel with a large book open in his lap. Jamie is asleep beside him, her head propped against his side. Sam sneaks out, checking to make sure they don't wake.

As Dean and Jamie sleep, the television flicks on to the now-familiar static, and the radio starts whining as well. It wakes Dean, who rubs the sleep out of his eyes and reaches over. He shakes Jamie's shoulder and puts his hand over her mouth. She opens her eyes and gets out of bed, grabbing Ruby's knife from the bedside table. Dean rolls quickly to grab a shotgun lying by the bed. He looks around cautiously, glances at Sam's bed and sees that it is empty. He grimaces. The painfully high-pitched noise begins again, and he grabs his right ear, keeping the weapon up in his left hand. A mirror on the ceiling shatters and rains broken glass down on him. He grabs his sister and shields her. They crumple to the ground, Dean is clutching both ears as all the glass in the room shatters explosively. Dean screams, but Jamie is quiet.

Bobby bursts into the room as more glass shatters. "Dean! Jamie!"

Bobby drives his car as Dean, in the passenger's seat, wipes blood from his face. Jamie is in the backseat frowning.

"How you doin', kids?"

"Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy. Jamie, you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Jamie doesn't look nearly as bad as Dean.

Dean pulls out his cell phone and dials Sam's number. "What are you doing?" He asks, switching it speakerphone so Jamie and Bobby can hear.

"Couldn't sleep, went to get a burger."

"In my car?"

"Force of habit, sorry. What are you doing up?"

"Well, uh, Bobby's back. We're going to grab a beer with Jamie." On Bobby's shocked look, Dean holds up a finger. Jamie is still frowning.

"All right, well, uh, spill some for me, huh?"

"Done. Catch you later." They hang up.

Bobby looks over at Dean. "Why the hell didn't you tell him?"

"Because he just tried to stop us."

"From what?"

"Summoning this thing." BOBBY looks at him in shock. Again. "It's time we faced it head-on."

Jamie leans in. "Dean, we can't. Not without Sam."

"You can't be serious!" Bobby yells.

"As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby."

"Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything."

"It could be something we can't kill." Jamie adds.

"That's why we've got to be ready for anything." Dean reaches behind the seat to his sister and pulls Ruby's knife out of Jamie's belt. "We've got the big-time magic knife, you've got an arsenal in the trunk..."

"This is a bad idea."

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have?"

Jamie pauses for a moment. "We could choose life."

"Look, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand."

"Dean, Jamie's right, we could use Sam on this."

"Nah, he's better off where he is."

Jamie sinks into the backseat. "Oh please tell me you didn't just say that."

Jamie draws a symbol with white spray paint on the cement floor of a warehouse. The entire floor, walls, and ceiling of the empty rectangular warehouse are covered in similar images.

Dean is at a table, setting up equipment. "That's a hell of an art project you've got going there."

Jamie is admiring her work. "Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe." She turns to Dean. "How you doin?"

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife. I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of."

"This is still a bad idea." Bobby says, walking over to them with a book.

"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times. What do you say we ring the dinner bell?"

Bobby nods reluctantly. "Get over here, Jamie. You're better at this then I am."

"I like how it's only me you'll admit is better then you." Jamie says with a smirk as she walks over to Bobby.

"Yeah well, you got the tongue for Latin."

"Jamie if things get dicey you get the hell out of here, you understand me." Dean tells her.

"Dean, I watched a hellhound devour my big brother. I can handle anything right about now, except seeing you die again, so leave it alone." She goes over to another desk, takes a pinch of some powder from a bowl, and sprinkles it into a larger bowl, which begins to smoke. She chants in Latin.

Nothing happens. Eventually they sit on the tables, swinging their legs and looking bored.

"You sure you did the ritual right?" Jamie gives Dean a look. "Sorry."

As if on cue, a loud rattling shakes the roof. Jamie, Dean, and Bobby arm themselves with shotguns and take positions at the far end of the warehouse. The door bursts open and a handsome man in a business suit and trenchcoat stalks in. He is Castiel. The light bulbs above his head shatter in a shower of sparks as he passes them. As he approaches, Jamie, Dean, and Bobby all open fire, but the shots do not even slow him down. Dean takes the knife as Castiel gets close.

"Who are you?" He asks.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition." Castiel replies.

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Dean rears back and plunges the knife into Castiel's chest. He looks down, unconcerned, and pulls it out, drops it to the floor.

Jamie eyes widen. Suddenly thousands of images flash before her eyes. "Oh my god." She drops to her knees in front of Castiel. Dean turns to her.

Behind him, Bobby attacks; without looking, Castiel grabs Bobby's weapon and uses it to swing him around. He touches Bobby on the forehead with fingertips and he crumples to the ground. Castiel looks at Jamie. Dean's eyes widen and he scrambles over to his sister.

"Oh no, no, no. Jamie!" He grabs his sister, forcing her to her feet and pulls her behind him.

"We need to talk, Dean. Alone." Castiel tells him.

"You aren't touching my sister."

Jamie steps out from behind Dean. She looks down. "Castiel, ego sum ad tuum servitium."

Dean crouches over Bobby, checking his pulse. He glares at Castiel, getting up and standing in front of Jamie who is staring at Castiel.

"Your friend's alive. And I've already promised not to touch your sister."

"Who are you?"

"Castiel."

"Yeah, I figured that much, I mean _what_ are you?"

Jamie finally takes her eyes off Castiel. "He is a messenger."

"I'm an Angel of the Lord."

Dean takes a step back. "Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing."

"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith." Lightning flashes, and on Castiel's back great shadowy wings appear, stretching off into the distance. Jamie drops to her knees again. The light goes out and the image disappears.

"Will you stop doing that." Dean pulls Jamie up. He turns to Castiel. "Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes."

"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that."

"You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you talking?" Castiel nods. "Buddy, next time, lower the volume."

"That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong. Jamie, you on the other hand, you possess such a gift."

Dean turns to his sister. "What? How?"

Jamie shrugs. "I don't know."

"What did he say in the motel?"

"He was talking to you as he's talking to you now."

"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?"

Castiel looks down. "This? This is... a vessel."

"You're possessing some poor bastard?"

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this."

"Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?"

Castiel frowns. "I told you."

"Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?"

Jamie grabs his arm. "Dean be careful what you say."

"Good things do happen, Dean."

Dean shrugs Jamie off. "Not in my experience."

"What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?"

"Why'd you do it?"

"Ecce servus domini." Jamie whispers.

"Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you."

Dean's eyes widen.

Dean and Jamie are sitting on an old car in Bobby's junk yard drinking beer. They're waiting for Sam. Dean finally turns to Jamie. "You know. Don't you? You know what happened to me in hell."

Jamie looks at him for a long moment and looks away. "Dean...I felt…I…" Tears come to her eyes. Dean gets up and walks over to her. He stands in front of her. She looks into his eyes and starts to cry. "Everything that happened you. I felt it as though it was happening to me." Tears stream down Dean's face. He wraps his arms around her and they hug. A few moments later they break away.

Dean sniffs and wipes his eyes. "I'm gonna go get another beer. You want one?"

"Yeah." Dean goes into the house. Castiel appears and stands in front of her. She looks up at him. "Ergo sum propheta Domini?"

"Magis quod." Castiel smiles just slightly. "Vox clamantis in deserto parate viam Domini rectas facite semitas eius."

Jamie shakes her head. "Quid?"

"Quia est non alia." A tear falls down Jamie's face. Castiel looks confused. He moves closer to her. "Quod est?"

"Audivi et vidi." She closes her eyes for a moment and then looks at him. "I don't know how to do this."

"Yes you do."


	13. 402 Are you there God It's Me Dean

Bobby is sitting at his desk with a pile of books in front of him. Sam is sitting in a chair in the opposite corner talking to Dean, who is standing. Jamie is leaning against the wall between them.

"Well, then tell me what else it could be."

Dean looks back at her annoyed. "Look, all I know is I was not groped by an angel."

"Okay, look, Dean. Why do you think this Castiel would lie to you about it?" Sam asks from his chair.

"Maybe he's some kind of demon. Demons lie."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "That's blasphemy, Dean."

"I don't give a damn, Jamie."

Bobby looks up from his books at the siblings.

Sam gets up. "A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps... and Ruby's knife? Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing!"

"Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?"

Jamie raises her hand. "Hi. Jamie Winchester, hunter. Saw the angel."

Sam nods. "Yeah. And so did you, Dean."

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here. Okay? Work with me."

Jamie moves over to Sam. "We are."

"We have a theory."

Dean shakes his head. "Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please."

"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure."

Jamie turns to her twin. "I am…"

Sam smirks. "Well, I'm just saying that I think we –"

"Okay, okay. That's the point. We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freaking Angel of the Lord because it says so!" Dean throws his arms out in frustration.

Jamie uncrosses her arms and copies Dean's outward sign of frustration. "I'm standing right here, Dean. I can sense evil. Castiel made me drop to my damn knees and speak Latin. I would say that makes him pretty damn creditable."

Bobby finally speaks up. "You three chuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?" The siblings walk over to Bobby's desk. He eyes each of them before patting his books. "I got stacks of lore - Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit."

"Grip them tight and raise them from perdition." Jamie says with a smirk. Dean glares at her.

"What else?"

"What else, what?"

"What else could do it?"

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box? As far as I can tell, nothing."

Sam looks up. "Dean, this is good news."

"How?"

"Because for once, this isn't just another round of demon crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?"

"Okay. Say it's true. Say there are angels. Then what? There's a God?"

Jamie looks up from where she's going through Bobby's books. "Of course."

Bobby nods in agreement. "At this point, Vegas money's on yeah."

Dean sighs. "I don't know, guys."

Jamie takes a step forward. "Dean…explain exorcisms to me, then. Explain holy water. My freakin rosary beads. If there isn't a God then why does this crap work on demons?"

Sam moves towards Dean's other side. "Okay, look. I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof."

"Proof?"

"Yes."

"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it."

Jamie walks over to him. "Why not?"

Dean looks down at her and finally relents a little. "Because why me? If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?"

Sam sighs. "Dean…"

"I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and the ditching chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy."

Sam looks over at him. "Apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs."

Jamie smirks. "Ecce servus domini."

Dean looks at his sister. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Servant of the Lord."

"Well, that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by... God."

Sam looks at Jamie and Jamie looks back at him. Sam shrugs. "Okay, well, too bad, Dean, because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat."

"Fine. What do we know about angels?"

Bobby picks up a pile of fat and weighty looking books and puts them in front of Dean. "These are the ones in English. Start reading."

Dean points a pile of books nearby. "What about those?"

Bobby picks up one. "Latin."

Dean looks at the pile of books, and turns towards Sam. "You're gonna get me some pie." He turns to Jamie. "And you're gonna help me translate." He grabs a book from the top of the pile. Jamie takes one of the Latin books.

Not long after Sam leaves Bobby walks into the room where Dean and Jamie were both curled up with books. "Not that this isn't a heartwarming sight but…"

"Trouble Bobby?" Jamie asks, looking up from her book.

"Yeah, missing hunters."

"Damn." Dean says. "How many?"

"Enough that we outta go check it out."

"Alright." Jamie gets up. "I'll go call Sam and tell him to get back here."

When Sam gets back, Dean approaches the driver's side of the car, as Bobby heads to his own car. Jamie gets in the backseat with a bunch of books. "Scoot over. Yeah." Dean grabs the bag of food Sam bought back and looks inside it. "Dude?"

"Yeah?" Sam asks.

"Where's the pie?"

Jamie grabs the bag from Dean. "Who cares, I'm starving."

When they get to Olivia's house, Bobby enters first, armed with a gun, followed by Dean, Jamie and Sam who are also armed. "Olivia?" Bobby calls. They see her dead and covered in blood on the floor. Bobby walks away, out of the room.

Jamie shakes her head. "Bobby?" Dean asks, looking around the corner.

Sam points to the doorway. "Salt line."

The siblings look around the room. Jamie sees the Emf. "Guys."

Dean picks up the device. "Olivia was rocking the EMF meter."

Sam nods. "Spirit activity."

"Yeah - on steroids. I never seen a ghost do this to a person." Dean says. Jamie looks worried. Bobby enters the room again, his phone in his hand. "Bobby, you all right?"

"I called some hunters nearby..."

Dean nods. "Good. We can use their help."

"...except they ain't answering their phones either."

"Oh." Jamie rubs her temples. "Oh." She says again. Dean takes a step towards her.

Sam looks at his sister. "Something's up, huh?"

"You think?" Bobby walks out of the room and the Winchesters look concerned.

Dean and Sam get out of the Impala and go inside a white creepy looking house. Jamie gets out and leans against the car, one of the angel books in her hand. She's wearing a utility belt strapped at her waist and one hip, where Ruby's knife is visible. She's on her phone. "Robin, it's Jace Winchester. Please tell me Aaron is home. I know he doesn't want to talk me, but is he at least home? Okay. Okay. Just…there is something going on and you two need to get somewhere safe for awhile. Someone or something is killing off hunters. Yeah, I'm gonna call Dan in a minute and tell him the same thing. Alright. Bye Robin." She hangs up her phone and dials Dan's number. The phone rings until the machine answers. "Damnit. Dan, it's Jace. Something is killing hunters and you need to call me back the second you get this. Please be alive." A cold wind sends a shiver down her spine. Andrew appears at her side, covered in blood. Jamie gasps and drops her phone. "AJ? What the hell?"

"Jace…why didn't you protect me?"

Jamie takes a step back. "I tried. I couldn't."

Andrew walks towards her. "We should have never been there, Jace. You walked us right into a trap."

Jamie circles the car, breathing heavily. "So beautiful. I loved you. And you betrayed me." Andrew goes to touch her. She sees a brand on his arm. Suddenly Castiel appears. He holds his hand out and Andrew screams and disappears.

"Castiel. What the hell is going on?" Castiel disappears. Jamie looks over and sees Dean and Sam are walking down the stairs, exiting the house. Dean is on the phone. Jamie opens the door to the Impala and gets inside quickly. Her brothers get to the car. Jamie is sitting in the backseat with her book. Sam looks back at her.

"You okay?"

Jamie nods. "I got through to Aaron and Robin, but I think it already got Dan."

"I'm sorry." Sam tells her. She nods again.

Dean gestures to her phone. "Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing helpful. Robin didn't know anything and Aaron still isn't speaking to me."

Dean Jamie and Sam are driving, and pull up to a stop at a service station. The car stops, and Sam puts the gas pump in the car. He walks to the restroom while the gas is pumping. Dean is asleep in the passenger seat of the car. Jamie is curled up in the backseat reading. She's quiet for a few moments and then looks up. "Dean…" She puts the book down climbing over the seat. "Dean." She shakes his shoulder and he wakes up with a start. "Dean, something is after Sam."

Dean immediately gets out of the car and Jamie scrambles after him. She points to the restroom and the two siblings rush to the door. Jamie flings it open and they enter. Sam is on the floor and Henriksen is standing over him. Dean shoots at him and the ghost disappears. Jamie rushes over to Sam and helps him up.

"Come on, we gotta get outta here!" Dean yells. He helps Jamie get Sam into the Impala.

Jamie is driving. Dean is on the phone. Sam is in the back seat with bruises on his face. Dean is looking at his phone. "Damn it, Bobby! Pick up!"

"Damnit, Bobby." Jamie grips the steering wheel.

Dean looks over at Sam. "How you feeling, huh? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"None. I'll be fine, Dean."

"Henriksen?"

"Yep."

"Why? What did he want?"

"Revenge, 'cause we got him killed."

"Sam."

"Well, we did, Dean."

Jamie sighs. "I saw Andrew."

Dean looks over at his sister, astonished. "What?"

Jamie nods. "When you guys were in the house. Andrew's ghost came at me."

Sam moves closer to them. "Jamie, why didn't you tell us?"

Jamie keeps her eyes on the road. "Nothing happened to me, that's why. I mean, he tried but…"

"But what?" Dean demands.

"Nothing. He didn't do anything to me. But I still saw him." She pauses. "And I got him killed too."

Dean shakes his head. "All right. Stop right there. Whatever the hell is going on, it's happening to us now, okay? I can't get ahold of Bobby, so if you two are not thinking answers, don't think at all."

It's light out when they get to Bobby's house. The siblings enter the house, guns cocked and ready.

"Bobby?" Dean asks. They find the iron poker on the ground. He gestures to the stairs. "I'll go. You two check outside."

Sam and Jamie walk through the junkyard. Bobby is in a car with the ghosts of two girls, who are keeping him quiet.

"Bobby?"

"Bobby? Bobby?"

"Bobby!" Jamie rubs her forehead.

Sam looks at her. "Something coming?"

"Something's here…" She and Sam look around. Sam's breath becomes visible. Jamie looks at him and then looks toward the car Bobby's in.

"Bobby?" She and Sam get closer. "We're here, Bobby."

"Sam…" Jamie nods toward the car. She cocks her gun. Sam cocks his. They move away from each other and slowly walk towards it. "We're coming Bobby, just a second!" Sam tries to open the door. Jamie grabs a crowbar and hands it to Sam.

"Hold on, Bobby!" Sam uses the crowbar to pry open the doors to the car where Bobby is being held. The Girls push him and Jamie backwards and they land on another car below, bleeding. One of the Girls jumps on Sam. Jamie sees another crowbar and it flies into her hand. She hits the girl with it, while Bobby does the same with the other girl. They disappear.

Dean, Jamie, Sam and Bobby are in the study. Sam looks up at his siblings. "So, they're all people we know?"

Jamie nods. "Not just know. People we couldn't save."

Dean sighs. "Yeah. Hey, I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"

Sam thinks for a moment. "I don't think so"

"It was like a-a mark on her hand - almost like a brand."

Sam looks at him. "I saw a mark, too, on Henriksen."

Jamie nods. "There was one on AJ too."

Bobby turns to the siblings. "What did it look like?"

"Uh, paper?" Sam takes offered paper and starts sketching the mark. "Thanks." He holds the drawing up for Dean and Jamie to compare.

"That's it." Dean says.

Jamie cringes. "Oh yeah."

Bobby takes a look at it. "I may have seen this before. We got to move."

"Whoa." Sam says as Bobby brushes past him.

"Follow me."

The siblings start to follow Bobby downstairs. "Okay, where are we going?" Sam asks.

"Some place safe, you idiot."

Jamie grabs Sam's hand. "Come on Sam."

"Jamie, here." Bobby picks up some books and hands them to Jamie, he leads her, Sam and Dean to a basement room, which is made entirely of iron and covered with pentagrams and Devil's traps.

Jamie gasps looking around. "Holy…"

"Bobby, is this..."

"Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. 100% ghost-proof."

Jamie and Dean look impressed.

"You built a panic room?" Sam asks.

Bobby shrugs. "I had a weekend off."

"Bobby."

"What?"

"You're awesome. Oh." Dean sees a poster of a swimsuit model. Jamie whacks him on the shoulder.

Awhile later Sam Jamie and Dean are making salt and iron bullets. Jamie also has a book open.

Sam looks over at her. "You're still reading that angel book?"

"Yup."

Sam grins. "You remember Dad trying to teach us Latin?"

"Yeah. I remember Dean couldn't pronounce half the words worth a damn."

"I can't believe it stayed with you. What were we, seven when he started teaching us?"

Jamie smirks. "Well I was raised in a frickin convent. What do you think read to past the time, comic books? No. I read everything on the supernatural the nuns had and then some."

"You're intense."

"Damn straight."

"See, this is why I can't get behind God." Dean finally says.

Jamie groans. "Not again."

Sam looks over at their brother. "What are you talking about?"

"If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason - just random, horrible, evil - I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?"

Bobby looks up. "I ain't touching this one with at 10-foot pole."

Jamie nods. "Join the club."

"Yeah."

"Found it." Bobby holds up his book.

"What?"

"The symbol you saw - the brand on the ghosts... "

Sam goes over to him. "Yeah?"

"Mark of the Witness."

"Jesus Christ!"

Dean looks over at his sister. "Jamie?"

Jamie gets off the table and goes over to Bobby. She starts looking through the pile of books.

Sam looks confused. "Witness? Witness to what?"

"The unnatural. None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts - they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them... on purpose. "

"Who?"

"Do I look like I know? But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark, a brand on their souls. Whoever did this had big plans. "

Jamie holds up another book. "It's called "the rising of the witnesses." It figures into an ancient prophecy.

Dean gets up. "Wait, wait. What - what book is that prophecy from?"

"Jamie?"

Jamie opens the book she's holding. "Revelations. This is a sign, boys."

"A sign of what?" Dean and Sam ask together.

Bobby and Jamie look at each other. "The apocalypse."

"Apocalypse? The apocalypse, apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, $5-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"

"That's the one. The rise of the witnesses is a - a mile marker."

Jamie shakes her head. "A seal."

Sam takes a breath. "Okay, so, what do we do now?"

Dean starts counting things off. "Road trip. Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience. Bunny Ranch."

Jamie smacks him in the head with a book. "Dean!"

Bobby chuckles. "First things first. How about we survive our friends out there?"

Dean groans, rubbing his head. "Great. Any ideas aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?"

"It's a spell." Bobby indicates the paper in front of him. "Sends the witnesses back to rest. Should work."

Sam looks skeptical. "Should. Great."

Bobby nods to Jamie. "If Jamie translates it correctly. I think I got everything we need here at the house."

Dean looks around. "Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?"

"So, you thought our luck was gonna start now all of a sudden?" Bobby asks.

Jamie looks at her brothers. "Spell's got to be cast over an open fire."

Sam nods. "The fireplace in the library."

"Bingo."

Dean shakes his head. "That's just not as appealing as a, uh, ghost-proof panic room, you know?"

SAM, Jamie, DEAN and BOBBY prepare to leave the panic room. Bobby turns to the siblings. "Cover each other. And aim careful. Don't run out of ammo until we're done, or they'll shred you. Ready?" They make their way out of the room, and head towards the stairs. A ghost sits on the stairs, a young man in his early 20s with curly hair.

"Hey, Dean. You remember me?"

"Ronald, huh? With the laser eyes? I wish I could say it's good to see you."

"I am dead because of you. You were supposed to help me!"

Jamie shoots at Ronald. "If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

They make their way to the living room. Sam creates a salt circle and Dean starts the fire. Jamie opens the book and scans over the words.

Bobby turns to Sam. "Upstairs, linen closet - red hex box. It'll be heavy."

"Got it."

The two girls appear in the living room again. Jamie sees them. "Dean!"

"Bobby." One of the girls says. Dean shoots at them.

Bobby turns to him. "Kitchen. Cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom. Hemlock, opium, wormwood."

"Opium?"

"Go!"

The girls reappear as Dean leaves for the kitchen. Bobby is drawing with chalk on the desk and tries to focus on this while the girls are there. Jamie is writing something down on a sheet of paper.

"Bobby. You walked right by us while that monster ate us all up."

"You could have saved us."

Jamie picks up her gun and shoots at the girls. Andrew appears.

"Jace…"

Bobby grabs his gun and shoots him.

Jamie looks up. "Thanks."

Dean is in the kitchen looking for the false bottom in the drawer. The doors to the kitchen close suddenly. Jamie looks up. "Dean?"

"I'm all right, Jamie! Keep working!" Dean tells her. Jamie looks back down at the paper while Dean wrestles with another ghost. Eventually Sam helps Dean up and they carry the hex box and other ingredients to the library.

"I got it. I'm good to go, Bobby." Jamie tells him.

"Good." He takes the hex box. Ronald appears again as Dean is reloading his gun.

"Ronald. Hey, come on, man. I thought we were pals."

"That's when I was breathing. Now I'm gonna eat you alive."

"Well...come on, I'm not a cheeseburger." Dean cocks his gun and points it at Ronald, but Ronald has vanished. Jamie recites some Latin words and the windows blow open and a wind fills the room. The wind moves the salt so they are no longer protected by it. Jamie hands Bobby her gun. Meg appears and Sam quickly shoots at her, as Jamie continues to recite the spell. Ronald appears and they shoot at him. Andrew appears and Bobby shoots him. Sam and Dean continue to fire as the ghosts appear. Henriksen knocks Dean's gun out of his hands when he is reloading, and approaches him. Dean grabs another gun, and shoots it, only to find it empty. He quickly picks up an iron rod and hits at Henriksen. Meg appears and pushes Sam against the wall, trapping him there with a desk. Sam tries to push the desk away without success."Sam!"

"Cover Jamie!" Sam yells. Jamie continues to recite the spell and Sam keeps trying to get out from behind the desk. The two girls are sitting on the desk waiting. Bobby shoots at them. Andrew plunges a hand into Jamie's back. Jamie drops the bowl with spell ingredients.

"Dean!" Dean catches the bowl. "Fireplace!"

Dean throws the bowl in the fire, which turns blue. The ghosts all disappear. Jamie falls to the ground. "Jamie?" Sam pushes the desk away, freeing himself. The brothers help Jamie up. She nods, indicating she is okay.

Later that night Sam is asleep on the couch. Dean is asleep on the floor nearby with Jamie curled up beside him. Dean wakes up to find Castiel standing in the kitchen. Jamie opens her eyes and looks at Dean. Dean frowns. He checks on Sam, sees he is asleep, and walks over to join Castiel. Jamie gets up and follows him.

"Excellent job with the witnesses." Castiel tells them.

Jamie nods. "Thanks."

"You were hip to all this?" Dean asks.

"I was, uh, made aware."

Jamie crosses her arms and stares up at Castiel.

"Well, thanks a lot for the angelic assistance. You know, I almost got my heart ripped out of my chest."

"But you didn't."

"What about Jamie?"

"What about her?"

"Why didn't you protect her?"

"I-"

"He did. When it mattered." Jamie finally says.

"With AJ?"

"Yeah."

Dean turns back to Castiel. "What about back there? When he almost ripped your heart out? I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos - you know, Michael Landon. Not dicks."

Jamie sighs. "Dean."

"Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."

"Yeah? Then, why didn't you fight?"

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns."

"Concerns? There were people getting torn to shreds down here! And, by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh, if there is a God?"

"There's a God." Castiel tells him.

"I'm not convinced. 'Cause if there's a God, what the hell is he waiting for, huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth? The freaking apocalypse? At what point does he lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards that are stuck down here?"

"The Lord works..."

"If you say "mysterious ways," so help me, I will kick your ass."

Jamie pushes Dean back. "So, was I right... about the witnesses?"

"Yes."

Dean looks at Jamie and then at Castiel. "This is some kind of a... sign of the apocalypse."

"That's why we're here. Big things afoot."

"God…" Jamie scoffs.

"Do I want to know what kind of things?"

"I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The rising of the witnesses is one of the 66 seals."

"Okay. I'm guessing that's not a show at Seaworld." He looks at Jamie.

Jamie sighs. "No, they are the seals written in the book of revelation."

Castiel nods. "Those seals are being broken by Lilith."

"She did the spell. She rose the witnesses."

"Mm-hmm. And not just here. 20 other hunters are dead."

Jamie sighs. "Including Dan?" Castiel nods. "That bitch."

Dean nods. "Of course. She picked victims that the hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us."

Jamie turns back to Castiel. "And Andrew. How did she get a hunter? I salted and burned his body."

"Lilith is powerful, and she has a certain sense of humor."

"Well, we put those spirits back to rest."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. Don't you get it, Dean? It doesn't matter."

"The seal was broken." Castiel tells them.

"Why break the seal anyway?"

"You think of the seals as locks on a door."

"Okay. Last one opens and..." Dean trails off.

"Oh my god." Jamie grabs her head and falls against the wall.

Castiel looks at her and then at Dean. "Lucifer walks free."

"Lucifer? But I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."

"Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me. Why do you think we're here walking among you now for the first time in 2,000 years?"

Dean looks at his sister. "To stop Lucifer." Jamie nods.

She looks at Castiel. "Can you? Stop Lucifer?"

"That's why we've arrived."

"Well... bang-up job so far. Stellar work with the witnesses. That's nice."

"Dean…"

"We tried. And there are other battles, other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost. Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here. You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in." Castiel vanishes, leaving Dean and Jamie alone in the kitchen. Later Dean wakes up. Sam is already awake and up and about. Jamie is sitting on the couch. Sam comes over with two cups and hands one to her. He sits next to her and looks at Dean.

"You all right? What's wrong, Dean?"

"So... You two got no problem believing in... God and Angels?"

Jamie shakes her head.

"No, not really." Sam says.

"So, I guess that means that you believe in the Devil."

Jamie eyes Dean.

"Why are you asking me all this?" Sam asks.

Jamie and Castiel are once again in the junkyard. Jamie closes the book she's been reading. "Vir bellator sum omni vita mea. Nunc necesse est assistant, patiendo, dum mundi patitur. Dum familia moritur."

"Te non electio." Castiel tells her softly, taking a step towards her. "Te sunt vocem. "

"I want to fight, Castiel. I was raised to fight."

"But you were born to see and to hear and to speak, not to fight." Jamie shakes her head and walks away from him. Castiel stares after her. "Si pugnare te mori." She stops and looks back at him.

"Ego mori."

Sam comes outside and sees Jamie standing by herself. "You okay? I heard Latin."

"I'm fine. I need to go, though."

"You have another job." Sam looks away.

"Sammy…"

"Hey, look. I got over you always leaving us a long time ago." He gives her a sad smile. She takes Ruby's knife out of the belt strapped around her hip and hands it to him.

Jamie moves her hair away from her face. "Sammy…when Dean was in hell we tried to make it work. We tried. And then…" A tear slips down her face as she looks away.

"Jamie." He wipes the tear away. "We had just lost Dean. You had just lost AJ."

"Sam, I'm so scared. What if Lilith breaks all the seals? What's going to happen then?"

Sam hugs her close. "I swear I will stop Lilith. I swear."


	14. 404 Metamorphosis

Sam is sitting at the table, reading a book. The Impala pulls up outside and Dean enters a few moments later followed by Jamie. He doesn't look at Sam, he just walks right into the room. Jamie follows him into the room, looking uneasy. Sam gets out of his chair the minute they enter. He looks at Jamie and she hugs him. He hugs her back. Dean grabs his bag and begins to pack up his stuff. Sam pulls away from Jamie walks over to him.

"Dean, what are you doing?"

Dean just ignores him and continues packing. Jamie walks over to him. "Dean. Dean!"

Dean looks at her. "I told you to stay in the car."

Sam looks at Jamie and then at Dean. "What, are you, are you leaving?"

"You don't need me. You and Ruby go fight demons. Come on, Jamie." Dean grabs his bag and starts for the door. Jamie stays where she is. Sam stands in the way so Dean has to go around him.

"Hold on. Dean, come on, man."

Jamie nods. "Let's just sit down and talk about this."

DEAN turns around and punches Sam in the face with his right hand. Jamie puts her hands over her mouth. Sam whirls around by the force. Dean just watches him as he turns back around to him.

"You satisfied?" He asks.

Dean raises his hand to hit him again but Jamie is faster. She grabs Dean's arm before he can hit Sam. "No. Dean. Not like this."

Dean looks at her and pulls his arm away. Jamie steps back, and Dean hits Sam again, and then throws his bag on the floor. Jamie glares at Dean and then goes over to Sam, grabbing unto his shirt and helping him straighten up. Sam touches his lip, which is bleeding.

"I guess not."

Jamie whirls around. "Damn you, Dean. He's our brother!"

"Stay out of this, Jamie." He turns to Sam. "Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human?"

"I'm just exorcising demons."

"With your mind!" Dean yells. He takes a breath and then calmly asks "What else can you do?"

Sam looks up. "I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons, and that's it."

Dean grabs hold of him and pushes him backwards, walking with the force.

"Dean! Dean stop!" Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm, but he ignores her.

"What else can you do?!" He yells in Sam's face.

"Sam!" Jamie looks at Sam, her eyes are pleading. "Sam, answer him."

"I told you!" Sam pushes his hand away, and they stop. Jamie crosses her arms and shakes her head.

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that." Dean begins to walk away from Sam and Jamie.

"Look, I should have said something." Dean stops, his back still to Sam. "I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here."

Dean turns around and faces him. Jamie looks away. "The other side?"

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

Dean looks at Jamie. "You. You knew about this. Why didn't you stop him?" He goes for her and Sam stops him.

"Enough, Dean. Jamie isn't part of this."

Jamie shakes her head. "Will you just listen to Sam? I don't like this anymore then you do, but he is my brother too."

"Like I said, I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the knife!"

"The knife kills the victim! What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year."

"That what Ruby want you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?" Dean shakes his head, sad. Jamie uncrosses her arms and goes over to him. "Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends."

Jamie looks at him. "We wouldn't let that happen. None of us would let that happen. Right, Sam?" She turns to look at her twin.

Sam nods. "I'm not gonna let it go too far."

Dean smiles at that, walks over to the wall and hits the lamp on the side table, making it crash and fly. Jamie jumps in shock. Sam puts his hands on her shoulders. Dean looks angry again. "It's already gone too far, Sam. If I didn't you know... I would wanna hunt you." He stares at Sam with so much intensity that Sam's eyes are tearful, and he nods at that, looking down. Tears run down Jamie's cheeks and she wipes them away with an impatient hand. "And so would other hunters."

"Dean…" Jamie's voice shakes. "Dean you died. You left us."

Sam looks up at him. "You were gone. I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing... It works."

Jamie sighs, glancing at Sam. She looks over at Dean.

"Well, tell me. If it's so terrific... then why'd you lie about it to me?" Sam looks down with that. "Why didn't you tell me, Jamie? Huh?" Jamie doesnt say anything. "Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

Sam and Jamie look up, surprised. "Cas told you?" Jamie asks.

"What?"

"Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?" With tearful eyes, they exchange a look and then Sam looks down. Jamie steps away from Sam so that she's between the both of them.

"Phone."

Sam looks at Jamie. Sam's phone starts ringing, Dean flinches at the sound. Sam answers it.

"Hello?" He pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to collect himself. "Hey, Travis. Yeah, hey. Uh.. It's good to hear your voice, too, yeah. Um, look, it's not a really good time right now. It's-Yeah, okay. Uh, well, just give me the details, and, uh.."

"Carthage, Missouri." Jamie says at the same time Sam does. Dean watches him as he walks over to the bedside table and writes down the location.

"Looking for…"

"Jack Montgomery." Once again the twins speak at the same time. Sam looks over at Jamie. Dean looks at her too. She shrugs a little. Sam puts down the pen and ends the phone call. Breathing deeply, he looks over at Dean.

Dean is behind the wheels and it seems they've been driving under silence for a while after Dean has told SAM and Jamie about what he found out in the past about their mom and family.

"I can't believe it. Mom, a hunter?" Sam says.

"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself. That woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down."

Jamie snickers. "I wonder why Dad didn't tell us."

"How'd she look? I mean... was she happy?"

"Yeah, she was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful." He looks over at Sam and then Jamie for moment and then back on the road. "Dad, too. Until of course..."

"Yeah." Jamie nods. She looks away. Sam sighs.

"What?"

Sam looks out his window. "Nothing." After a moment he turns back to Dean. Jamie leans in from the backseat. "It's just, our parents. And now we find out our grandparents too? Our whole family murdered and for what? So Yellow Eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?"

Dean goes a bit "huh..?" over that last statement, thinking about what he's told Sam about the past. Jamie's eyes widen and she puts her face in her hand. "Sam…"

"What?"

Dean looks over at Sam. "Sam, I never said anything about demon blood." Sam looks guilty. "You knew about that?" Dean looks back at Jamie. "You both knew about that?"

Jamie nods slowly. Sam still doesn't look at Dean. "Yeah, for about a year."

Dean looks out through the window again, eyes on the road. "A whole year?"

Their sister looks up. "Since the devil's gate."

"That's more than a year!"

"I should have told you. I'm sorry."

"You've been saying that a lot lately, Sam. But whatever. You don't want to tell me, you don't have to. It's fine."

"Dean." Sam looks over at Dean, who's focusing on the road. "Whatever." Sam sighs.

"Boys." Jamie sighs.

A while later the Impala is parked and the siblings are crouched in some bushes behind a house. Dean is staring inside with binoculars. "Are you sure that's him?" Jamie and Sam are behind him. Sam nods.  
"Only Jack Montgomery in town."

"And we're looking for..."

"Travis said to keep an eye out for anything weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, yeah, I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top. But this guy? I mean, come on, this guy's boring."

Sam takes up a pair of binoculars of his own. "I don't know, Dean. Travis seemed pretty sure. Jamie?"

"Give me a minute." Jamie closes her eyes. In her mind she sees Jack is leaning on the island in the kitchen, looking thoughtful. He takes another swig of his beer, and then opens the fridge again. He grabs a leftover chicken, and starts eating, not bothering with platers or utensiles. He begins to eat frantically, like he's not gotten food in days. He throws the finished chicken aside and grabs a pack of uncooked meat and opens it up and starts eating the raw meat, throwing looks over his shoulder for his wife.

"Honey?"

He stops eating when he hears her voice. Jamie opens her eyes. The siblings are all wearing matching disgusted looks on their faces. "I'm gonna be sick." She puts her hand over her mouth.

Sam nods. "I'd say that qualifies as weird."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam come through the door of the motel, and stop as they've just entered, seeing something in their room. A smile comes on Dean's lips.

"Travis." Sam says blunted, seeing the old hunter sitting by the table, beer in hand.

Dean glances at his brother. "See, Sam. Told you we should have hid the beer."

Jamie grins. "I think he would have found it anyway."

Travis gets up and with a smile he walks towards the boys and Jamie as they walk towards him. "Smartass. Get over here." He laughs and he and Dean hug. "Ahh, good to see you."

Dean nods. "You too."

They break and Travis and Sam hug as well.

"Good to see you."

"You too, Travis."

They break. And Travis steps back, taking in Sam's appearance. "Man, you got tall, kid."

They all laugh at that comment. He turns to Jamie. She smiles. They hug. "Hey Travis."

Travis shakes his head as they break. "Jamie Winchester. You are still the splitting image of your mother. I never thought I'd see the day when you three were back together. How long has it been?"

Jamie pauses. "15 years for me."

Sam nods. "Ah, gotta be 10 years for us."

"You still a.. oh, what was it... a mathlete?"

Sam scoffs a little. Jamie snickers. "No."

"Yes." Dean and Jamie reply automatically.

"Been too long, guys. I mean, look at you. Grown men. Jamie, you're a beautiful woman. John would have been damn proud of you. Sticking together like this."

Dean looks away. "Yeah. Yeah, we're as thick as thieves." He looks at Sam, who's smile is disappearing with his brother's words, and his sister, who frowns a little. "Nothing more important than family."

"Right." Jamie says, but there is a bit of sacarasm in her voice that Travis doesn't notice as he puts his arm around her and walks over to the table. Dean follows, ignoring Sam.

"Sorry I'm late for the dance." They sit down at the table, Sam sits down on the bed next to Dean, across from Travis. Jamie leans against the table. "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little, uh, shorthanded." He indicates his right hand and arm, which is covered in a cast. They laugh at that.

"Hunting accident?" Jamie asks.

"Nope, fell down the stairs. So, you track down Montgomery?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, we found him at his home."

"And?"

"Well, he had a hell of a case of the munchies, topped off with a burger he forgot to cook." Dean shutters just a little.

Jamie nods. "Gulped that crap right down."

"That's him alright."

"What's him?"

"Boys, Jamie, we got a rougarou on our hands."

Jamie's eyes light up in surprise. "No sh-really?"

Dean looks surprised as well. "A rougarou?" He looks over at Sam for a second. "Is that made up?" He looks back at Travis before Sam can answer. "That sounds made up."

Jamie glances at her brother, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "It's not."

Travis nods. "They're mean, nasty little suckers."

Jamie looks at her brothers. "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well, that ain't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cellphone on his belt."

Travis shakes his head. "He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human, for all intents and purposes."

Sam looks up. "So, what? They go through some kind of metamorphosis?"

Jamie nods. "Exactly."

"Yep, like a maggot turning into a bull fly. But most of all they're hungry."

"Hungry for what?" Dean asks.

"At first, for everything, but then... for long pig."

Sam exhales at that, understanding what Travis means. Jamie turns a sickly pale green. Dean looks confused, not understanding the term "long pig".

"Long pig?"

"He means human flesh."

"And that is my word of the day."

"Ugh." Jamie puts her hand over her mouth.

Travis glances at the siblings before continuing. "Hunger grows in till they can't fight it. Till they got to take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens."

"What happens?" Sam asks.

Jamie and Travis start to speak at the same time. "They trans-"

Travis stops, looking over at Jamie. Dean gives his sister a look. Jamie looks away.

"Transform completely and fast. One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin; all turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

Dean shakes his head. "Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "He aint, exactly."

"Lets just say it runs in his family."

"You mean, uh..."

"Killed his daddy back in '78. Son of a bitch mangled 8 bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife... Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

Sam looks slightly amused. "You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?"

Jamie gives her twin a look. "Sam, it was a kid."

Travis sighs. "I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid... I don't think I'd have the heart. No. I wanted to wait, make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently, I do." He takes a swig of the beer.

Later Dean and Travis are by the table, fixing gas cans for use.

"So fire, huh?" Dean asks.

"The only way I found to kill these bastards; deep-fry 'em."

"Well, that's gonna be... horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

Travis nods. "Uh-huh."

Sam comes into the room from outside, papers in hand. Jamie follows him. "Not wasting any time, are you?" He asks.

"None to waste. The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

Sam sits down on the bed next to the table. Jamie leans against him.

"What if he doesn't hulk out?"

"You might wanna wait till you hear what we found out."

"We did a little homework. Uh, I've been checking out the lore on rougarous."

Travis looks up at the twins. "What? My 30 years of experience not good enough for you?"

"No." Jamie says flatly.

"No. No," Sam says less convincingly. "I-I- we just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't.."

"Sam loves research. He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." Dean cuts in. He looks over at Sam. Jamie puts her face in her hand.

"Deeeeean."

"It is."

Sam shakes his head. "Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but uh…" He looks at his sister.

"But we found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this rougarou gene or whatever." Jamie gestures to the papers.

"Yeah see, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

"Really?" Dean asks.

Jamie nods. "Mmmhmm."

"See, if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what? Go vegan, stay human?"

"Yup." Sam puts his arm around Jamie.

"Basically. Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not..."

Dean can't resist cutting Jamie off. "Long pig."

Sam tries not to look pale. "Right."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Stop saying that. I've never touching meat again after this as it is."

Dean smiles a little, Travis is just sitting next to him, having watched and listened to Sam and Jamie about this under silence. "Good on you two for the due diligence." He gets up. "But those are fairy tales." He walks over to the little pantry and pours himself another cup of coffee. "Fact is, every rougarou I ever saw or heard of... took that bite."

Sam stands up while speaking. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will."

Dean watches Sam rise and then stands up himself. Jamie moves between her brothers.

"So what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?"

Sam and Jamie look at each other. "No, we talk to him." Jamie says.

Sam nods. "Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it."

"Yeah."

"Fight it?" Travis laughs. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry?" This gets Dean's attention, who's been looking at the papers SAM and Jamie brought with them. "I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?"

"Yeah." Dean says softly. Jamie stiffens, glancing quickly at her brother.

"Yeah. Right then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"

Dean looks thoughtful for a second and then admits "no" without words, only raising of eyebrows. He slowly looks over at Sam. He catches Jamie's gaze. She stares hard at him.

"That's what we are to him now, meat on legs. I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?"

When Sam responds he sounds firm and very serious. "I don't know. But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for."

Jamie nods. "Agreed."

Dean looks over at them at that. Sam takes a few breaths and then walks out of the room. Jamie looks after him. Travis looks over at Dean, a bit puzzled by Sam's reaction.

"What's up with your brother?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Nothing. He's fine." She leaves the room, following after Sam. Dean looks at the door and then Travis.

"Don't get me started." He turns to sit down again.

"Sam!" Jamie catches up to her twin as he goes to sit in the Impala. He leaves the door open as he climbs into the passenger seat. She stands against the open door looking at him. "Hey."

"Don't Jamie." His voice cracks a little.

"Look, I know we haven't gotten along very well the last couple of months but…you're my twin, my brother. No matter what."

"No matter what, huh? You sure about that?" He stares up at her. Unspoken words pass between them. Angry voices in their heads.

"Sam." Jamie looks down.

"If it comes down to me or Dean, who are you going to choose?"

"Hey." Dean walks out of the door just then, carrying the keys. "Let's take a ride, guys."

Jamie and Sam share another look before Jamie gets into the back seat.

"All right, so we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy-which, you know... I'm down." Dean is saying as he's driving. Sam is just sitting quietly next to him, staring out the front windshield with a serious look on his face. Jamie is leaning in from the backseat, looking between her brothers. "But I just want to make sure, if push comes, you're gonna shove. Both of you. " He looks over at Sam, who finally turns to him. Jamie watches them.

"Meaning?"

"Well, odds are we're gonna have to burn this guy alive."

"This guy has a name and a wife."

"Yeah, who we're probably gonna make a widow, okay? I mean, you heard Travis. He's gonna turn. They always turn."

Sam looks back at Jamie. "Well, maybe he won't."

Jamie looks at Sam. "Maybe he can fight it off."

Dean stares at the two of them. "And maybe he can't, that's all I'm saying."

Jamie relents. "Alright, I hear you."

"Yeah, all right, we'll just have to see then, okay?"

"This is what I mean, Sam. You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here?"

Sam looks at him with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, nice dude, but he's got something evil inside. Something in his blood. Maybe you can relate."

"Dean!" Jamie yells.

Dean looks over at him, but Sam doesn't respond with a look of his own. He looks pretty angry though. "Stop the car."

"What?"

Jamie frowns. "Sam?"

"Stop the car or I will!"

They all share a look.

Dean drives to the side of the road, but before the car has completely slowed to a stop Sam has already opened his door and is getting out. As Dean opens his door, SAM slams his own shut and turns around to him, angry. Jamie opens her door and gets out.

"You want to know why I've been lying to you, Dean? Because of crap like this."

They start to walk around the front of the car.

"Like what?"

"The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak!"

Sam walks past Dean, and then turns around to him, now completely pissed off. Jamie walks in between them, putting one hand on Sam's chest and the other on Dean's.

"I do not."

"You know, or even worse, like I'm an idiot!"

He takes a step forward to get into Dean's face. But Jamie pushes him back. "Sam."

"Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong!" He steps back, turns his back to Dean and Jamie and walks a few steps. He then stops, hands on hips, back still to his siblings, who's watching him. When Sam finally turns around, Dean looks down. Jamie looks at him. "What?"

Dean looks up at him again, and now he sounds a bit angry. "Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately."

Jamie puts her hand on Dean's chest. "Dean…"

"You have no idea what I'm going through. None."

"Then enlighten me!"

"I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this - this curse... and make something good out of it. Because I have to. "

Jamie stares at both of her brothers. Dean looks at him for a few moments, as Sam looks down on the ground. After a while Jamie says something in a calm voice.

"Let's just go talk to Jack, okay?"

After a moment, Sam gives a small, almost non-existant, nod, but he doesn't look at Dean. Dean nods, looking at the ground. Jamie goes back over to her door.

Jack is standing the garden with the hose in his hand, watering plants. Suddenly Sam , Jamie,and Dean emerge through the backdoor to the garden behind Jack. As they walk over to him he seems completely spaced out, just holding the hose, and staring into nothing.

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam asks. Jack doesn't turn right away, take a moment, and then he just looks around, over at the boys. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother; Dean, and my sister, Jamie." Jack turns around and looks at them as they walk up to him. "We need to talk."

Jack looks at him and then at Dean, who looks around a bit, and then Jamie, who is staring at him. Jack looks back at Sam.

"About?"

"About you. About how you're changing."

"Excuse me?"

Jamie swallows hard. "About all the…feelings, you've been having."

Dean takes a step forward. "You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin. And your appetite's reaching, you know, "hungry hungry hippo" levels. How am I doing so far?"

"Who the hell are you guys?"

"We're people who know a little something about something." Dean tells him.

Sam nods. "We're people who can help."

Jamie looks at Jack. "Please, just hear us out."

"A-a what?" Jack asks when Dean is finished explaining.

"A rougarou. Sounds made-up, I know, but believe me, it's not."

"Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just, I-I don't know. I'm.. I'm sick or something."

"Your father was one of these things." Jack turns around to Sam at that. "Your real father."

"He passed it on to you." Jamie adds.

"No. Are-are you guys listening to yourselves? You s-sound like you're-"

Dean puts his hand up. "Skip the whole "you guys sound crazy", shall we? You're hungry, Jack. You're only gonna get hungrier."

"Hungrier for?"

"Long pig."

Jamie slaps her hand over Dean's chest. "Dean! God. He means human flesh."

"Yeah, you know, a little manburger helper, may have crossed your mind already."

"No."

"You can't lie to us."

"It doesn't have to be like this, Jack. You can fight it off."

"No."

"Others have."

Dean nods. "We're not gonna lie to you, though. It's not gonna be easy. You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you. You gotta say no... or-"

"Or what?"

Jamie sighs. "Or things will get pretty nasty."

Sam nods. "You feed once, and it's all over. And then we'll have to stop you."

"Stop me? My dad, did uh, somebody stop him?"

"Yes."

Jack suddenly looks very angry. "Get off my property right now. I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."

Jamie sighs. "For once I wish this could end well."

She walks behind Dean. Sam isn't ready to give up.

"Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger."

"Now!:

JACK's neighbour, who's cutting a bush, looks over at them when Jack raises his voice. Sam sighs and they begin to walk away.

"Good talk." Dean mutters.

Later Dean, Sam, and Jamie have been watching Jack. Jamie turns around to the backseat as Jack is running across the street, to the woman's building. "Damn it. Jack."

"No." Sam pulls up the flamethrower and exists the car, Jamie right behind him. Dean grabs a flamethrower as well and gets out the car too. "Come on."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean kick down the door and hurry through it, flamethrowers at the ready. They meet the woman, who's just coming out of her bedroom and they scare the living hell out of her with that entrance. She screams and backs into her bedroom.

"Wait!" Dean yells. She slams her door. Dean, Jamie, and Sam are still standing by the front door, looking a bit confused. "Whoa, uh, we're here to save you, I guess."

SAM and Jamie look around, and they hear the woman locking her bedroomdoor.

"Oh damnit."

"I'm calling the police!" The woman yells.

Sam turns to Dean. "We should go."

"Yeah."

They hurry out, Dean turns around and closes the door with a little embarassed laugh. The frame of the door, where the lock is, is completely broken.

The boys and Jamie pulls up in front of the house, and see a car on the otherside of the street. They slowly get out, flamethrowers in hand. Dean walks around the Impala to Sam and Jamie.

Jamie is muttering to herself. "Goddamnit. Goddamnit. Goddamnit."

"I guess now we know where Travis is." Dean says. They start walking towards the house.

"That stupid son of a bitch." Dean looks over at Sam by that comment. They reach the porchsteps.

The frontdoor slowly opens and Dean comes in first, eyes on the stairs. As he moves in, Sam and Jamie follows and go towards the living room. They stop by the entrance to the livingroom, seeing a large pool of blood. A bloodtrail from the pool to behind the couch can be seen, from where Jack has dragged Travis behind it. Jamie gasps softly, and Dean and Sam grab unto her. She has a vision of Jack killing Travis. Sam closes his eyes, seeing her vision for himself. Dean looks at his brother and sister. The siblings share a look.

There is a piece of meat on the floor behind the couch, as Sam walks over to it, closely followed by Dean and Jamie. They stop by it and looks down.

"Oh, God. That's Travis?" Dean asks, looking back at Jamie and Sam.

"Yeah." Jamie turns pale. Sam sighs.

"What's left of him." Dean looks at him. Sam looks defeated. "You were right about Jack."

Jamie gasps out loud. Before Dean can respond he's suddenly pushed forward and Jack jumps him from behind. "Dean!" Jamie yells.

"Dean!"

They slam down on the coffee table, knocking out Dean. Jamie rushes for her brother. Sam quickly moves around them and pulls up his flamethrower and puts up his lighter in front of it, to light it. Jack turns around to him and jumps him before he can get a flame. They slam to the floor, Sam hits the back of his head.

"Sam!" Jamie yells, trying to wake Dean.

Before Sam has a chance to do anything, Jack grabs the flamethrower and slams it into Sam's face, effectivly knocking him out. Jack turns back to Jamie, who slowly gets up. She glances around as Jack walks toward her. She holds her hand out for Dean's flamethrower and it flies into her hand. She grops her pockets for a lighter. Jack is coming closer.

"Sweetie. You don't want to do that." Jack tells her.

Jamie doesn't say anything. She looks up at him. He lunges at her. She holds her hands out, sending him flying backward into the wall. She rushes back to Dean and tries to wake him up. Jack grabs unto her from behind and slams her head down unto the coffee table.

Later Sam is on the floor of the closet, knocked out. He slowly wakes up. After a second he remembers where he is and he gets up and goes for the doorhandle, but it's locked. "Dean? Jamie?"

"Dean and Jamie can't come to the phone right now." Jack says from the living room.

Sam slams his hand against the door twice, angry. "Jack! If you hurt them, I swear to God!"

"Calm down!" Dean is still lying on the coffee table, knocked out and Jack is sitting by his feet. Jamie is tied to the leg of the table, blindfolded and gagged. "Your brother and sister are alive." Sam relaxes a bit with that news and rests his head against the door, panting. "But not if you don't calm down."

Sam is completely calm now. "Alright, Jack. Listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?"

Jack laughs at that. "We'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." He's close to tears out of desperation.

"Jack. Please."

"I don't think so. After what you did?"

Sam is confused by that. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You send your friend here. He tried to burn my wife alive."

Sam is shocked. "What? Why?" He is going through his pockets.

"He didn't say." Sam looks around and sees a metal hanger. He grabs it. "I guess psychopaths don't have to explain themselves." He looks over at Dean and slowly begins to move along his body. Jamie is starting to wake up. She moans softly.

"Listen to me. You gotta believe me. My brother, my sister and I, we never would have hurt her, okay?"

Jack comes up by Dean's face, who's still knocked out. With a shaking hand, Jack reaches out and dips his fingers in the little pool of blood that has formed by Dean's head. He turns his hand over, looking at the blood on his finger. He then sucks it off, enjoying the taste. He begins to rock back and forth.

"Oh, God. I'm so hungry."

Jamie hears him and begins to struggle, trying to get her hands free.

Sam has used the metalwired hanger and re-formed it so he can pick the lock. ""Jack, don't do this." He bends down and goes for the lock.

Jack turns towards the closet door. "I can't ever see my family again."

SAM works the lock.

Jack turns back to Dean. "You three... your friend. You made me into this!"

The gag slips from Jamie's mouth. "No. We didn't know. We didn't."

Sam is still working on the lock. "Jamie?"

"Sam!"

"No one's making you kill us." The lock won't agree with him and he takes down his hands for a moment.

"Sam, talk to him. Tell him you understand." Jamie struggles to get the blindfold off her eyes.

"Listen to me." Jack is looking up at the ceiling and then he looks down again as Sam speaks. "You got this dark pit inside you. I know." Sam is leaning against the door again, with his eyes closed. "Believe me, I know." He opens his eyes. "But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster." He begins to work on the lock again.

Jack laughs at that. "Have you seen me lately?"

Jamie tries to remain calm. "It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice."

Jack sits still for a moment and then he grunts in pain. Then he begins to move up to Dean's head again, with his mouth open, looking like he's slowly going down the road of eating Dean. Dean slowly begins to wake up now. Jack puts a hand on his shoulder, eyes completely fixed upon Dean. Suddenly Jack hears a door slam open.

"No!" Jamie yells. The blindfold falls off and sends a blast of telekinetic power in Jack's direction. Jack is thrown back.

"Jack!"

Jack whips around towards the closet door, and sees Sam standing there, flamethrower and lighter in hands, ready. Jack sits still for a moment, like he decides something, while Sam is only watching him. Then he lunges for Sam as Jamie gets her hands free. She stands up and looks toward Sam and then at Dean. As Dean slowly lifts his head and is slowly turning it around over his shoulder we hear Sam flip the lighter and the flamethrower goes off. Jamie bends over Dean to shield him. She gets up and then he turns back and they watch while Sam burns Jack alive. Jack finally falls to the floor, in flames. Dean and Jamie look over at Sam, who's sad by this outcome. Defeated even.

The Impala comes down a road, fast. They're driving under silence, Dean behind the wheel. He looks over at Sam who's just staring out the window. Jamie is leaning against the window in backseat. Dean turns back to the road. "You did the right thing, you know. That guy was a monster, there was no going back."

Jamie sighs. "It didn't have to be this way."

Dean glances back at her. "I think it did, Jamie."

"Whatever."

Sam doesn't respond, he only lowers his head.

"Sam, I wanna tell you I'm sorry. I've been kind of hard on you lately."

Sam lifts his head again, looking out, and he looks so broken.

"Don't worry about it, Dean."

"It's just that your, uh, your psychic thing, it scares the crap out of me." Jamie looks at Dean. He glances at her. "In all fairness, Jamie's does too."

"Hmm." She settles back against the window, closing her eyes.

"Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it." He looks over at Dean. Dean looks back at him and a little smile plays on his lips.

"Wait a minute. What? You don't want to talk? You?" Sam doesn't reply to the smile or joke.

"There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand."

"Why don't you try?"

"I can't. Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you or Jamie the way it's in me. It's just something I got to deal with."

"Not alone."

"We're here too." Jamie whispers.

Sam sighs and looks out through the passenger window and we see him reflected in it. He's silent for a while. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. These powers... it's playing with fire. I'm done with them." Dean looks over at him. Jamie moves up closer to them. "I'm done with everything."

Jamie's gaze is hard. "You sure?"

"Really?" Sam continues to look out his window and Dean turns back to the road. Jamie looks down. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you."

Jamie smirks slightly, glancing at Sam. Sam turns around to Dean and scoffs a little. "Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you. Or Jamie. Or for the angels or for anybody. This is my choice."

"Okay, Sammy. Whatever you say." Jamie mutters. She and Dean share a look Sam doesn't see.


	15. 410 Heaven and Hell

Jamie's truck pulls up to the cabin. Dean and Sam are standing outside the door waiting for her. She gets out of the truck and stares at them. "You shouldn't have called me."

Dean looks up, confused. "Why not?"

Jamie sighs. "I should have told you earlier. You want to know why I can see Cas' true form? Why I can do all the things I can do?"

Sam raises his eyebrows in surprise. "You can see Cas' true form?"

Jamie glances at him and then at Dean. "It's why I've been trying to stay away. I'm a prophet, guys. I see, I hear, and I speak of the Truth. I'm uh…the quintessential angel's bitch." She smirks and then looks up.  
"Anna hears them, you tell me. Well, they talk to me."

Dean's jaw drops and then he looks pissed. "They talk to you?"

Jamie nods. "That's why I get headaches around the stuff we hunt. It's a supernatural low jack." She looks at Sam. "That's why I'm the one who got away. From Azazel, from Lilith, from everything we've ever hunted."

"So you're indestructible?" Sam asks, walking over to her.

"No, I'm guarded. I'm watched. Protected, for the most part."

Dean looks at her, pointing up at the sky. "So do they know where you are, right now?"

Jamie shakes her head. "No. Anna banishing them means they've lost sight of me too. But they'll try like hell to find out." She sighs. "Do you want me to leave?"

Sam shakes his head. "No."

Dean nods. "No. I need you here, Jamie." He walks over to her. "Back to Anna, though. What do you think?"

Jamie smirks. "I think we're all screwed."

Sam smirks. "Probably but I think Anna's getting more interesting by the second."

They go inside. Dean glances back at Sam. "Yeah, I agree. And what did they mean by "she's not innocent"?"

Jamie looks between her brothers. "I'm not sure I want to know."

"It seems like they want her bad, and not just 'cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell - Some serious crap, man." Sam looks at Jamie.

She stops and then looks up at Sam. "Blood spell?"

"Something's going on with her."

Jamie looks at Dean and then back to Sam. "See what you can find out, Sam."

Sam nods. "What are you gonna do?" He looks at Dean.

"Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield, but, sooner or later, they're gonna be back. We got to get ourselves safe now."

Anna is sitting in a chair in Bobby's panic room. Dean and Jamie are there.

Jamie smirks. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

Dean points to the wall. "Iron walls drenched in salt. Demons can't even touch the joint."

Ruby is waiting outside the open door. "Which I find racist, by the way."

Jamie shrugs. "Sorry."

"Write your congressman." Dean says, offhandedly.

Ruby rolls her eyes and tosses something to Dean. "Here."

"Hex bags?"

"Extra-crunchy. They'll hide us from angels, demons, all comers."

Jamie looks up. "Even me?"

Ruby nods. "Even you."

"Thanks, Ruby." He turns to Anna. "Don't lose this." He gives her the hex bag. "So, Anna, what's playing on angel radio? Anything useful?"

"It's quiet. Dead silence."

Dean looks at his sister. "Jamie?"

"Silence over here too."

"Good. That's not troubling at all."

Anna looks up. "We're in trouble, huh? You guys are scared?"

Dean shakes his head. "Nah."

"Hey, Dean! Jamie!" Sam calls from upstairs.

Jamie starts for the door. "We're coming, Sam!"

"Just stay here, okay?" Dean tells Anna and then looks at RUBY. "Keep an eye on her."

"How's the car?" Dean asks as he and Jamie enter the dining room.

"I got her. She's fine. Where's Bobby?"

"Uh, The Dominican. He said we break anything, we buy it."

Jamie scoffs. "I aint paying him a penny."

"He's working a job?"

"God, I hope so. Otherwise, he's at hedonism in a banana hammock and a trucker cap."

Jamie closes her eyes and shakes her head. "God, Dean."

Sam nods. "Now that's seared in my brain."

"All right, what did you find on Anna?"

"Uh, not much. Her parents were, uh, Rich and Amy Milton - a church deacon and a housewife."

"Riveting."

"Yeah. But there is something here in the report. Turns out this latest psych episode wasn't her first."

"No?"

"When she was 2 1/2, she'd get hysterical any time her dad got close. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy."

"What?"

"Who was? The plumber, hmm? A little snaking the pipes?"

Jamie and Sam both stare at Dean for a second before Sam starts talking again. "Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again. Look, Anna didn't say. She just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad. Very mad - like wanted-to-kill-her mad."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Kind of heavy for a 2-year-old."

"Well, she saw a kid's shrink, got better, and grew up normal."

"Until now. So, what's she hiding?"

Jamie looks up. "I think we're about to find out."

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?" The siblings turn around to find Anna and Ruby standing there.

Dean glares at Ruby. "Nice job watching her."

"I'm watching her."

Sam tries to soften the tension. "No, you're right, Anna. Is there anything you want to tell us?"

"About what?"

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that?"

"You tell me. Tell me why my life has been leveled... Why my parents are dead. I don't know. I swear. I would give anything to know."

"Okay. Then let's find out."

"How?"

Sam turns to his sister. "Jamie, can you?"

Jamie shakes her head. "No. That's still beyond my abilities. But we know someone who can."

Awhile later Dean is leading Pamela down the stairs.

Jamie looks up. "They're back."

"We're here!"

Sam walks over to them. "Pamela, hey!"

"Sam?"

"It's me. it's Sam"

"SAM?" She feels around for him.

"Yeah."

"Sam, is that you?"

"I'm right here."

"Oh. Know how I can tell?" She grabs Sam's ass. "That perky little ass of yours. You could bounce a nickel off that thing. Of course I know it's you, grumpy. Same way I know that's a demon, and that poor girl's Anna, and that Jamie is a prophet, which is very impressive abate scary, and that you've been eyeing my rack."

Jamie looks impressed. "No kidding."

Sam is dumbfounded. "Uh... uh... uh..."

"Don't sweat it, kiddo. I still got more senses than most."

"Got it."

Pamela goes over to Anna.

"Hey, Anna. How are you? I'm Pamela."

"Hi."

"Dean told me what's been going on. I'm excited to help."

"Oh. That's nice of you."

"Oh, well, not really. Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?"

"They stole something from me." She takes off her sunglasses, revealing white eyes. "Demon-y, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think?" She laughs. "Now...how about you tell me what your deal is? Hmm? Don't you worry."

Anna is laying on a bed in the panic room. Pamela is sitting beside her. Dean and Jamie aren't far away. "Nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay? 5... 4... 3... 2... 1. Deep sleep. Deep sleep. Every muscle calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you."

"Now, Anna, tell me... How can you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?"

"I don't know. I just did."

"Your father... What's his name?"

"Rich Milton."

"All right. But I want you to look further back... When you were very young... Just a couple of years old."

"I don't want to."

Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie sighs, she squeezes her eyes shut. Pamela tries to keep Anna calm.

"It'll be okay. Anna, just one look - that's all we need."

"No."

"What's your dad's name? Your real dad. Why is he angry at you?"

"No. No! No." Anna screams. "No!"

"Calm down."

"He's gonna kill me!"

"Anna, you're safe."

"No!" The lights explode and glass shatters. The door slams and locks.

"Calm down."

"He's gonna kill me!"

"It's all right, Anna."

"Anna?" Dean walks towards Anna. Jamie opens her eyes and stands up.

"Dean, don't."

Anna throws Dean across the room. Jamie raises her hands and stops him before falls into the chair. She and Sam grab ahold of him to keep him upright. Pamela sighs.

"Wake in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Anna... Anna? You all right?"

"Thank you, Pamela. That helps a lot. I remember now."

"Remember what?" Sam asks.

"Who I am."

"Oh my god." Jamie takes a step back.

Dean looks at Jamie and then at Anna. "I'll bite. Who are you?"

"I'm an angel."

Everyone is gathered in the library. Jamie is standing with Pamela and Ruby, while Dean and Sam stand on the other side with Anna in the middle. "Don't be afraid, I'm not like the others."

Ruby crosses her arms. "I don't find that very reassuring."

Pamela nods. "Neither do I."

Jamie sighs. "Well then listen to me. Castiel's presence makes me sink to my knees and speak Latin. I'm standing, and speaking plain English. She is definitely not like the others."

Dean nods. "Point taken."

"So...Castiel, Uriel - they're the ones that came for me?"

Sam nods. "You know them?"

"We were kind of in the same foxhole."

"So, what, were they like your bosses or something?" Dean asks.

Jamie smirks, going over to Anna. "Not quite."

"Try the other way around."

Dean grins. "Look at you."

Pamela looks at Anna. "But now they want to kill you?"

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

"Why?"

"I disobeyed... which, for us, is about the worst thing you can do. I fell."

Dean looks at her. "Meaning?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "She fell to earth, became human."

Sam looks at Jamie and then to Anna. "Wait a minute. I don't understand. So, angels can just become human?"

Anna looks up. "It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

"Come again?"

"My grace. It's... energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So, you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?"

"The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

Ruby finally speaks up. "I don't think you all appreciate how completely screwed we are."

Anna nods. "Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just wants her. A flesh-and-blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you."

"I know."

Jamie moves away. "I need to leave. Now. They're going to be looking for me, and if they find me they find you."

Anna puts her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "No, Jamie. I'm gonna get it back."

"What?"

"My grace."

"You can do that?"

"If I can find it."

"So, what, you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and, shazam, you're Roma Downey?" Dean smirks.

"Something like that."

Dean crosses his arms. "All right. I like this plan. So, where's this grace of yours?" Jamie snickers and crosses her arms."What's so funny?"

"Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

Sam's eyes widen. "Wait. You mean falling, like, literally?"

"Yes."

"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?"

Anna looks at him. "Why do you ask?"

Later that night Sam and Ruby were doing research. Ruby leaves. Sam sighs. Jamie appears in the doorway.

Sam looks up at her. "Hey."

"Hey."

He looks away. "You know, don't you?"

Jamie smirks. "For like…ever. You're my twin, Sam. It didn't take much for me to find out."

"I guess we're all pretty screwed up."

"More then you know."

"So when did you find out about the prophet thing?"

Jamie looks away. "When Dean came back from hell."

Sam turns to her. "That why you ran out on us again, Jamie?"

Jamie stares at him. "Part of it." She tells him evenly.

"And you're gonna run again?"

"I'm always running Sam. I didn't want this, I didn't ask for it, but it's who I am. And for that I cannot stay here with you two for very long. They will use me against you two if they get the chance. I will not be used to hurt my brothers."

Jamie and Sam spread the research out for Dean and Anna to see. "Union, Kentucky. Found some accounts of a local miracle." Jamie points to a spot on the map.

"Yeah?" Dean asks.

"Yeah. In '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full-grown oak."

Sam nods. "They say it looks a century old at least."

"Anna, what do you think?" Dean turns to her.

"The grace. Where it hit, it could have done something like that, easy."

"So grace ground zero - it's not destruction. It's..."

Jamie and Anna look up. "Pure creation." They say together.

Dean is driving. Sam is beside him and Jamie, Anna and Ruby are in the backseat. Dean looks in the rear-view mirror and laughs.

"What?" Ruby asks.

"Nothing. It's just an angel, a prophet, and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the setup to a bad joke... or a Penthouse Forum letter."

Jamie and Sam both look up. Jamie narrows her eyes. "Dean. Sister. Bad."

Sam nods. "Dude... Reality... Porn."

"You call this reality?"

The Winchesters, Ruby, and Anna walk into the field where a beautiful large oak is growing.

"Wow." Jamie stares up at it.

"It's beautiful." Dean says.

Anna nods. "It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it."

Jamie pauses. "So can I. Kind of."

Dean looks back at Anna. "You ready to do this?"

"Not really."

"Anna, what are we even looking for?" Sam asks.

Anna puts a hand on the tree trunk.

Jamie puts her hands on her heart. "Oh no."

Anna turns to them. "It doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it."

They're all held up in a barn near the Oak field. Dean is trying to calm the tension.

"We still got the hex bags. I say we head back to the panic room."

Ruby looks up. "What, forever?"

"I'm just thinking out loud!" Dean snaps.

"Oh, you call that thinking?" Ruby shoots back.

Sam gets between them. "Hey! Hey, hey, hey. Stop it."

Ruby looks at the brothers. "Anna's grace is gone. You understand? She can't angel up. She can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side maybe, but not both. Not at once."

Jamie puts her black utility jacket on and grabs her bag. "I need to leave. I need to leave now. They're looking for me. I can feel it." She's physically shaking. Dean stares Ruby down as he walks over and grabs her by the shoulders.

Anna looks up. "Um... guys? The angels are talking again."

Sam looks over at her. Dean and Jamie look up. "What are they saying?"

"It's weird... Like a recording... a loop. It says "Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or..."

Dean looks at her. "Or what?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "...or we hurl him back to damnation." Jamie starts shaking harder. Dean puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her.

"Okay. Jamie, go, get out of here." He tells her, turning her to the door.

Sam goes over to them. "No, wait. Anna.. Do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?"

"To what? To kill them? Nothing we could get to... Not right now."

Dean shakes his head. "Okay, wait, wait. I say we call Bobby. We get him back from hedonism."

Jamie shakes her head. "Bobby can't help us."

Sam agrees with his twin. "Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?"

"I don't know, but we got to think of something!"

It's much later. Dean and Anna have left the barn. Jamie gets up and leaves the barn. Ruby watches her. Sam is asleep over an open book as Ruby leaves.

Jamie sits on the Impala. Castiel is standing before her. "Cas, take me out of here right now."

"I can't."

Jamie looks up at him sharply. "I will not do this. You cannot ask me to do this."

"You're right. I can't."

"What?"

Castiel sighs. "You're a prophet, Jamie. You're supposed to stand by passively while all of this unfolds. You don't interfere, we won't make you interfere."

Jamie scoffs. "Oh I see, I don't have to hand her over myself, but you'll make Dean do it."

"I am sorry."

"Cas…"

Castiel grabs unto her. "I'm sorry."

Back in the Barn Dean, Sam, and Anna are gathered there.

"Where's Jamie?" Dean asks.

"I don't know, man. Where's Ruby?" Sam asks.

"Hey, she's your Hell buddy." Dean is drinking from his flask.

"Little early for that, isn't it?" Anna asks.

"It's 2 a.m. somewhere."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

The doors open with a blast and Castiel and Uriel enter. Castiel is holding Jamie's hand. "Hello, Anna. It's good to see you."

Sam stares at his twin. "Jamie, how could you?" She turns away.

Castiel looks over at him. "She didn't. She is completely innocent in all of this."

"If not her then how? How did you find us?" He pauses. "Dean?"

Dean sighs and looks at Anna. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Sam asks.

"Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me... or kill you and take Jamie away. I know how their minds work." Anna kisses Dean goodbye. "You did the best you could. I forgive you. Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry." Castiel tells her.

"No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still, we have a history. It's just –"

"Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick."

Jamie grabs her head. "Dean! Sam!"

Castiel turns to her. "Prophetess?"

Alastair, a bleeding Ruby and another demon appear. "Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head."

Uriel steps forward. "How dare you come in this room... you pussing sore!"

Alastair smirks. "Name-calling. That hurt my feelings... You sanctimonious, fanatical prick."

Castiel moves Jamie behind him. "Turn around and walk away now."

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

"You know who we are and what we will do. I won't say it again. Leave now... or we lay you to waste."

"Think I'll take my chances." Angels and demons begin to fight. Dean and Sam are pushed back to the sidelines. Castiel shoves Jamie toward her brothers and tries to exorcise Alastair with his hand with no result. "Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to daddy?"

Uriel exorcises a demon who screams.

Alastair begins to exorcise Castiel. "Potestas inferna, me confirma. Potestas inferna, me confirma. Potestas inferma, me confirma!"

"CAS! No! Dean, do something, please. He's gonna send Castiel back to heaven." Jamie tells him.

Dean hits Alastair with a crowbar.

"Dean, Dean, Dean... I am so disappointed. You had such promise." He goes to attack Dean, Sam, and Jamie. Jamie steps in front of her brothers, holding her hands out in front of her.

"If you touch me, the wrath of Michael will descend upon you."

Alastair smirks. "My dear, I don't want you."

Jamie is thrown to the side. Alastair attacks Dean and Sam. Anna takes her grace from Uriel while he is killing the other demon. "No!"

Anna breaks the pendant releasing the grace. White light flows into her mouth. "Shut your eyes. Shut your eyes! Shut your eyes!"

Jamie throws herself between her brothers and puts her hands over their eyes. Bright light comes out from Anna's body and makes Alastair disappear, leaving behind Ruby's knife. Anna disappears. Jamie falls to her knees. "Ave dominus angelum." She mutters.

Dean looks at Castiel and Uriel. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared."

Castiel ignores Dean and goes over to Jamie. She grabs Ruby's knife and tucks it into her jeans as she gets to her feet. "Forgive me for not properly protecting you, prophetess. Are you hurt?"

Jamie shakes her head.

"This isn't over." Uriel says.

"Oh, it looks over to me, junkless." Dean tells him.

Castiel and Uriel disappear. Sam goes over to Ruby. "You okay?"

"Not so much."

"What took you so long to get here?"

"Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery. I was only being tortured."

Dean looks at Sam. "I got to hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together all at once - angels and demons. It was a damn good plan."

Jamie shakes her head. "Scary as hell. I just about had to watch my family die, but brilliant."

"Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass, best to get out of their way and let them fight."

"Yeah, now you're just bragging."

Jamie snickers and puts her arms around her brothers. Sam looks up.

"So, I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh? She must be happy... Wherever she is."

Dean looks up. "I doubt it."

Jamie nods. "Me too."

Sam is sitting on the hood of the Impala with a beer, Jamie is sitting crosslegged in the middle, and Dean is leaning against the side of the car near them."I can't believe we made it out of there."

"Again." Sam and Jamie say at the same time.

Dean holds out his bottle and Sam and Jamie clinks it.

"To family.: Jamie says.

Sam and Dean nod.

"I know you heard him." Dean says after a minute.

"Who?" Sam asks.

"Alastair." Jamie answers.

" What he said... about how I had promise."

"I heard him."

"You're not curious? Either of you?"

Sam sighs. "Dean, I'm damn curious. But you're not talking about Hell, and I'm not pushing."

Jamie nods. "I already know, but I've been waiting for you to tell me."

Dean looks away. "It wasn't four months, you know."

"What?" Sam looks at Jamie. Jamie looks away. Sam turns back to Dean.

"It was four months up here, but down there... I don't know."

"Time's different. In Heaven too." Jamie says.

"It was more like 40 years."

"My God." Sam breaths.

"They, uh... They sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you... Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly... I would be whole again... like magic... just so they could start in all over. And Alastair... at the end of every day... every one... he would come over. And he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack... if I put souls on... if I started the torturing. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For 30 years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore, guys. I couldn't. Jamie, Sammy, I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls." a tear rolls down his cheek. "The - the things that I did to them."

"Dean." Jamie gets off the hood stands next to Dean. Dean grabs unto her and holds her tightly.

Sam looks at his brother. "Dean... Dean, look, you held out for 30 years. That's longer than anyone would have."

Dean is crying. "How I feel... This... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy."

Jamie rocks on her feet, holding unto him. "Shh…I got you. I got you."

"Jamie…I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing." Dean wipes his eyes. Castiel appears.

Sam looks up. "Cas."

"What the hell are you doing here, Cas?" Dean asks, wiping his eyes roughly.

" I came for the prophetess."

"What?"

Jamie pulls back from Dean. "My ride is here." She takes out Ruby's knife and hands it to Dean. He looks at down at it and then looks at her.

"You're going with him? After everything that just happened?"

Castiel looks at them. "She has to. It's the only way she'll be safe. Lilith knows the Voice has awakened."

Jamie wraps her arms around Dean and then Sam and grabs her bag from the Impala.

Sam looks at Castiel. "Where are you taking her?"

"I cannot tell you that. I can only tell you that she will be watched over."

Dean looks up. "She should be with her family."

"Guys." The three of them look over at her. "I'm right here. Listen, I didn't ask for this, I don't want this, but I have to do this. This is my choice. When the seals started breaking, I felt it, and I don't understand it. Castiel can help me to understand. I love you guys." Castiel touches Jamie and they disappear.


	16. 416 On the Head of a Pin

It's night and Impala races down a country road. Sam is driving. Dean is in the passenger seat staring out the window. "You get ahold of Jamie?" He doesn't look at his brother when he asks.

Sam glances over at him and then back to the road. He nods to himself. "I did, she should be at the motel by now. Ruby will meet us in Cheyenne. She's been tracking some leads. I know she's not exactly on your Christmas list, but if she can help us get to Lilith—"

Dean cuts him off. "Hey, man, work with Ruby, don't. I don't really give a rat's ass."

Sam sighs. "What's your problem?"

Dean finally turns to him. He's not angry, almost defeated. "Pamela didn't want anything to do with this and we dragged her back into it, Sam."

Sam sighs again, shrugging as he looks at the road. "She knew what was at stake."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah. Saving the world. And we're doing such a damn good job of it."

"Dean—"

"I'm tired of burying friends, Sam."

"Look, we catch a fresh trail—"

Dean cuts him off again. "And we follow it, I know. Like I said, I'm just getting tired."

"Well, get angry."

They finally get to the motel and enter the room. The lights are off and Sam searches for the switch. "Ah, home crappy home." Dean says, mostly to himself as Sam flips on the lights. "Jamie, you here?"

"Winchesters." Dean and Sam both step back, startled to see Uriel and Castiel are waiting inside the room. Jamie is sitting down at the table with the two angels standing behind her.

"Oh come on." Dean groans.

Uriel isn't in the mood to put up with Dean's crap. "You are needed."

"Needed? We just got back from needed." Dean says, rather annoyed. Jamie and Sam share a look.

"Mind your tone with me." Uriel says, his voice dangerously low.

"No, you mind your damn tone with us." The older hunter shoots back.

His sister looks up. "Dean, please."

"We just got back from Pamela's funeral." Sam explains, trying to keep the tension from building up in the room.

"Pamela. You know, psychic Pamela? You remember her. Cas, you remember her. You burned her eyes out. Remember that? Good times." Dean's voice is laced with sarcasm.

"It wasn't Cas' fault, Dean." Jamie says evenly, glancing back at Castiel who looks away.

Dean ignores her. "Yeah, then she died saving one of your precious seals. So maybe you can stop pushing us around like chess pieces for _five freaking minutes!"_

"We raised you out of hell for our purposes." Uriel reminds him.

"Yeah, what were those again? What exactly did you want from me?"

"Start with gratitude."

"Oh."

Jamie gets up, walking over to her brothers.

Castiel looks at the Winchesters. "Dean, we know this is difficult to understand."

"And we—" Uriel gives Castiel a significant look."—don't care. Now, seven angels have been murdered, all of them from our garrison. The last one was killed tonight."

This forces Dean to calm down for a minute. He looks at Castiel but not Uriel. "Demons? How they doing it?"

Jamie looks at her brothers. "They don't know."

Sam finally speaks up. "I'm sorry, but what do you want us to do about it? I mean, a demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of our league, right?"

Uriel looks at the younger brother. "We can handle the demons, thank you very much."

"Once we find whoever it is." Castiel adds.

"So you need our help hunting a demon?"

Castiel looks up. "Not quite. We have Alastair."

Jamie turns back to the angels. "You have Alastair? You didn't tell me that, Cas."

Uriel looks at the prophetess. His tone is even. "It was not necessary to inform you before now."

Jamie narrows her eyes and turns back to Dean. Dean glances at her, meeting her stare and then looks back at Castiel and Uriel. "Great. He should be able to name your trigger man."

Castiel sighs. "But he won't talk. Alastair's will is very strong. We've arrived at an impasse."

Dean shrugs. "Yeah, well, he's like a black belt in torture. I mean, you guys are out of your league."

"That's why we've come to his student. You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we've got." Uriel tells him. Jamie immediately turns back to Castiel. Sam's jaw drops a little. Dean looks down.

"Dean, you are our best hope." Castiel says after a moment.

Dean looks up defiantly. "No. No way. You can't ask me to do this, Cas. Not this."

Jamie moves closer to Dean, putting her hand on his chest, she holds the other hand out in front of her. "Cas, can't you…"

Uriel walks up to Dean and Jamie. "Who said anything about asking?"

Uriel and Castiel disappear, along with Dean and Jamie. Sam looks around in surprise. "Damnit!"

They appear in an old warehouse. Alastair is visible through a window in a door, chained to a hexacle standing in the middle of a devil's trap.

"This devil's trap is old Enochian. He's bound completely." Castiel tells the siblings.

Jamie nods glancing back at Dean. "He's not exaggerating. It's solid."

Dean isn't as impressed. "Fascinating. Come on, Jamie." He grabs her arm and turns away from the door. "Where's the door?"

"Where are you going?" Castiel asks.

"Hitch back to Cheyenne, thank you very much." Dean walks past Uriel, then stops. Uriel is blocking his path.

"Angels are dying, boy." The angel says, his voice is threatening but Dean won't back down.

"Everybody's dying these days. And hey, I get it. You're all-powerful. You can make me do whatever you want. But you can't make me do this." He tells him.

Uriel goes for Dean, but Jamie steps in front of him.

"He said he wasn't going to do it." She sneers, her eyes are bright blue in the weak light, wide, angry.

"This is too much to ask, _I_ know. But we have to ask it." Castiel says from behind them. Jamie and Dean turn around to face him. Dean watches Castiel for a moment, then turns back to Uriel.

"I want to talk to Cas alone."

"Really." Uriel is almost mocking him.

"Uriel, do as he says." Jamie breathes, giving the angel a look.

"If you want a snowball's chance of me going in there, then you're gonna shag ass and let us talk."

Uriel pauses, looking at the identical expressions across Dean and Jamie's faces. Expressions of anger, frustration…fear? "I think I'll go seek revelation. We might have some further orders."

"Well, get some donuts while you're out." Dean tells him, a smirk playing at the corner of his lip.

Uriel laughs."Ah, this one just won't quit, will he? Heaven help us, I think I'm starting to like you, boy."

Dean watches Uriel vanish and turns back to Castiel. "You guys don't walk enough. You're gonna get flabby." Jamie snickers. Castiel doesn't react. "You know, I'm starting to think junkless has a better sense of humor than you do."

"Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. Ask anyone." Castiel tells him, completely deadpan.

Jamie puts her face in her hand. "Cas…"

"What?" He asks looking at the prophetess. "Oh was that a-"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Dean walks up to the angel, serious again. "What's going on, Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?" He looks at Jamie. Dean picks up on the look and turns to his sister. "Jamie, since when do you start ordering angels around?"

Jamie's eyes roll upward to Dean's face. "Since the last time I saw you guys. With every seal that breaks my power grows, and my uh importance goes up a step. I guess. Anyway…"She looks at Castiel. "Answer my brother." She tries hard to make it sound like an order, but it comes out unsteady and uncertain. She isn't used to it.

"My superiors have begun to question my sympathies." Castiel tells the hunters.

"Your sympathies?"

"I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. You." Castiel tells him, point blank. "They feel I've begun to express emotions. The doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgment."

Dean moves in close to the angel. "Well, tell Uriel, or whoever...you do not want me doing this, trust me."

"Want it, no. But I have been told we need it."

Dean stares at Castiel. "Jamie, order them to let me go."

Castiel stares back at him. "That is an order Jamie cannot give, she's been overruled."

"God." The female hunter mutters, turning away.

"More or less." Castiel says, still staring into Dean's face.

"Deus mihi…"She mutters to herself in Latin and sits on the table.

Dean glances at the door and then Castiel. "You ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out."

"Cas don't make him do this. Please don't make him do this. Use me."

"I am sorry, Jamie. But you are of far too great importance to be involved. This not your fight. For what it's worth Dean, I would give anything not to have you do this."

Dean closes his eyes.

Not long afterward, he loads a cart full of tools and puts a cloth over it. Jamie walks up and hands him Ruby's knife. He looks down at it and then over to her. "How do you always manage to get this?"

She shrugs. "I like it."

They share a look and then both look towards the door. Jamie puts her hand on Dean's arm and he pulls her into a hug before pulling away. Dean wheels the loaded cart covered with a cloth into the room where Alastair is imprisoned. Jamie stands in the open doorway. Alastair watches Dean enter, grins, and starts to sing, moving within the chains almost as though he is dancing.

"Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak, and I seem to find the happiness I seek, when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek..." Dean pulls the cloth off the cart, revealing an assortment of torture implements. Alastair laughs. Dean ignores him. "I'm sorry. This is a very serious, very emotional situation for you. I shouldn't laugh, it's just that—I mean, are they serious? They sent you to torture me?"

Dean stares at him. "You got one chance. One. Tell me who's killing the angels. I want a name."

"You think I'll see all your scary toys and spill my guts?"

"Oh, you'll spill your guts, one way or another. I just didn't wanna ruin my shoes." Dean smirks.

"Oh, yeah."

"Now answer the question."

"Or what? You'll work me over?" Alastair smirks. He notices Jamie watching from the doorway. "Or your beautiful little sister. Why don't you come over here poppet?"

Jamie sneers, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Dean glances back at her. "Jamie! Stay back."

Alastair grins. "But then, maybe you don't want to. Maybe you're, ah, scared to."

Dean looks at him. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Not entirely. You left part of yourself back in the Pit." The demon once again looks at Jamie. "Did he tell you that, cupcake? All the wonderful time we had together?" He looks again at Dean. "Let's see if we can get the two of you back together again, shall we?"

"You're gonna be disappointed." Dean walks over to the cart.

"You have not disappointed me so far. Come on. You gotta want a little payback for everything I did to you. For all the pokes and prods. Hm?" Dean is impassive. "No? Um...how about for all the things I did to your daddy?" Dean's head comes up. Jamie stiffens. "I had your pop on my rack for close to a century."

"You can't stall forever." Jamie says, taking a step into the room.

"Jamie!" Dean points to her. She takes a step back.

"John Winchester. Made a good name for himself. A hundred years. After each session, I'd make him the same offer I made you. I'd put down my blade if he picked one up."

Dean looks at his sister and then back to Alastair. "Just give me the demon's name, Alastair."

"But he said nein each and every time. Oh, damned if I couldn't break him." Dean takes off his utility jacket. Jamie crosses her arms. "Pulled out all the stops, but John, he was, well, made of something unique. The stuff of heroes. And then came Dean. Dean Winchester. I thought I was up against it again." Dean drinks from a bottle of something alcoholic. Jamie frowns, closing her eyes as she listens to the demon. "But daddy's little girl, he broke. He broke in thirty. Oh, just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?" Dean puts down the bottle. "Bet that makes your little sister proud, huh?" He glances once again at Jamie, but her eyes are closed. "Now." Dean picks up a jigger and fills it from a large bottle of water that has a rosary in it. "Now we're getting somewhere. Are those your little sister's beads? She's a fine one isn't she. Voice of angels, I hear. And Holy water? Come on. Grasshopper, you're gonna have to get creative to impress me."

Dean looks up finally. "You know something, Alastair? I could still dream. Even in hell. And over and over and over, you know what I dreamt? I dreamt of this moment." Alastair begins to look nervous. Dean picks up a needle. "And believe me, I got a few ideas." Dean fills the needle from the jigger, and sprays a little water from it. "Jamie." He looks at his sister for a final time. Jamie opens her eyes and backs out of the room, using her telekinesis to shut and lock the door. Dean goes over to Alastair. "Let's get started."

In the next room Castiel and Jamie hear Alastair screaming. Jamie puts her fist in her mouth. "Ave Maria gratia plena dominius tecum…." Castiel puts his hand on her shoulder. She puts her hands over her ears as the torture continues. "Ave Maria gratia plena dominius tecum…"

Castiel listens to Alastair's groans. The light flickers, catching their attention; the bulb explodes. Anna appears behind them. "Anna."

"Hello, Castiel." Castiel turns to look at her. "Prophetess, it is good to see you again."

Jamie opens her eyes and puts her hands down. "Welcome, Anna."

"Your human body—"

"It was destroyed, I know. But I guess I'm sentimental. Called in some old favors and..."

Alastair becomes slightly more audible, causing Jamie gasp out loud.

Castiel looks over at her and then turns back to Anna. "You shouldn't be here. We still have orders to kill you."

"Somehow with your prophetess here I don't think you'll try."

Jamie walks in between them. "Cas, I may not be able to stop what's happening in there, but I can stop this."

"Where's Uriel?"

"He went to receive revelation."

"Right. Why are you letting Dean do this?"

Castiel looks away. "He's doing God's work."

"Torturing? That's God's work? Stop him, Cas, please. Before you ruin the one real weapon you have. Look, even the prophetess is distressed."

Jamie looks up, her expression defiant. "I'm fine…"

"Who are we to question the will of God?"

"Unless this isn't his will."

"Then where do the orders come from?"

"I don't know. One of our superiors, maybe, but not him."

Jamie looks up. "Michael."

Castiel turns back to Jamie. "Is he speaking to you?"

" No. But that's my best guess." She pulls her black utility jacket tighter over her torso and walks over to the door, kneeling down next to it. She is listening against the door. She puts her hands against her heart. "Castiel, for the love of God…"

Anna looks at Jamie and then to Castiel. "The father you love. You think he wants this? You think he'd ask this of you? You think this is righteous?" Castiel can't meet her eyes. "What you're feeling? It's called doubt." Jamie gasps out, leaning against the door with tears falling down her face. Anna touches Castiel's hand. "These orders are wrong and you know it. But you can do the right thing. You're afraid, Cas. I was too. But together, we can still—"

Castiel looks down at their hands and then at Anna. "Together?" he yanks his hand away.

"I am nothing like you. You fell. Go."

"Cas."

"Go."

Anna vanishes. Castiel listens to Alastair scream. Jamie cries out. He goes over to her. "Jamie." He runs his hands over her shoulders. "You are a prophet of the Lord, he is your strength. Do not despair for the fallen."

She gets a far off look in her eyes. "…And it shall be written, the prophetess wept not for those who had fallen into perdition, but for her brother." She looks at Castiel petrified, moving away from him and closing her eyes.

She sees Alastair spit out blood and try to breathe. "Something caught in my throat. I think it's my throat." He rasps.

"Well, strap in, 'cause I'm just starting to have fun." Dean goes back to his cart.

"You know, it was supposed to be your father." Dean pours out more holy water. Jamie gasps again. "He was supposed to bring it on. But, in the end, it was you."

Dean looks over what he's doing. "Bring what on?"

"Oh, every night, the same offer, remember? Same as your father." Dean shakes salt onto the blade of Ruby's knife. "And finally you said, "Sign me up." Oh, the first time you picked up my razor, the first time you sliced into that weeping bitch..." Dean turns to face Alastair. "That was the first seal."

Dean does not visibly react. He walks closer. "You're lying."

Jamie bolts straight up from Castiel's grasp. Her voice is not her own. "And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell. As he breaks, so shall it break."

"Jamie?" Castiel mutters. She faints dead away in his arms. "Jamie!" He puts his hand on her head, trying to heal her. He looks concerned as he looks down at her arm. "Jamie?"

Her eyes shoot open. "Oh my god. Oh my god!" She gets up and scrambles away from the door. Castiel grabs unto her.

"What is it? What's troubling you?"

She turns to him, her eyes wide with fear. "It's broken."

"What is?"

Jamie looks at the door. Castiel follows her gaze. He pushes Jamie behind him and throws the door open.

Alastair turns around. Dean is covered in blood in his grip. Castiel has Ruby's knife. The demon drops Dean, who doesn't move, to focus on Castiel, who stabs him in the heart. The injury sparks gold light, but not as much as when it kills. Jamie rushes in and goes to Dean's side.

Alastair looks down at the knife. "Well, almost. Looks like God is on my side today."

Castiel lifts a hand. The knife twists itself. Alastair grunts in pain and pulls out the knife, then tosses it away and charges Castiel. They fight.

"Cas!" Jamie gets up. She sees Ruby's knife on the floor and stares at it. It flies into her hand.

Castiel looks over at her. "Jamie, get out of here!" Alastair slams Castiel against the wall, impaling him on a piece of steel and begins choking him. He looks at Jamie

"Ahh the prophetess. You know, I wonder if it's true that if you're in danger Michael himself comes down to smite the threat."

Jamie swallows, blinks and stiffens. "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert." She rushes for Alastair and stabs him in the back with the knife. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus…"

Alastiar chuckles and sends her flying unto the floor beside Dean. "No!" Castiel yells, reaching a hand out towards Jamie.

"Well, like roaches, you celestials. Now, I really wish I knew how to kill you. But all I can do is send you back to heaven." Alastair chants in Latin. Blue light appears in Castiel's eyes and mouth. Suddenly Alastair stops abruptly, choking, and is slammed against the wall. Jamie is standing. She has blood trickling down her face. She squeezes her hand into a fist.

"Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii."

Alastair starts laughing, despite being choked. "That won't stop me, poppet."

"No, but he will." Jamie lowers her hand. Sam steps into view beside her, one hand raised. Castiel slumps to the ground. Jamie rushes over to the angel.

"Stupid pet tricks."

"Cas?" He looks at Jamie and nods. She grabs unto him and he grunts when she pulls him off of the piece of steel.

"Who's murdering the angels? How are they doing it?" Sam asks Alastair.

"You think I'm gonna tell you?"

"Yeah, I do." Sam twists his hand. Alastair's eyes roll white and he chokes. "How are the demons killing angels?"

"I don't know."

"Right."

"It's not us. We're not doing it."

"I don't believe you."

Jamie pulls Castiel away from the wall. They go over to Dean.

"Lilith is not behind this. She wouldn't kill seven angels. Oh, she'd kill a hundred, a thousand." Sam stops. "Oh, go ahead. Send me back, if you can."

"I'm stronger than that now. Now I can kill." Sam holds out his hand. Gold light flares inside Alastair as he screams. The host collapses, dead. Jamie and Castiel stare at Sam.

Dean is in a hospital bed, heavily bandaged with a breathing tube and an IV drip. Sam sits next to him. Jamie sits on the other side. Neither of them say anything. Castiel appears at the doorway, pauses, and continues down the hallway. Jamie and Sam follow him out of the room.

"Sam—" Castiel starts but Sam cuts him off.

"Get in there and heal him. Miracle. Now."

"I can't."

"You and Uriel put him in there—"

"No."

"—because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together."

Sam's anger seems to radiate off him. Jamie looks away and says nothing. Castiel watches her and then looks at Sam. "I don't know what happened. That trap...it shouldn't have broken. I am sorry."

"This whole thing was pointless. You understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."

"Perhaps Alastair was lying."

"No, he wasn't."

Sam goes back to Dean. Jamie looks at Castiel. "Cas. Someone broke that trap on purpose. I felt it break and then I felt my brother's pain."

Castiel looks as though he has been slugged in the face. "I will find out the truth, prophetess. I promise." He looks at her and then disappears. Jamie sighs.

Sam appears in the doorway again. "He left didn't he." He walks out into the hallway and runs his hand over his face.

Jamie takes a step towards him and then pushes him into the wall. "You son of a bitch!"

"Wha…" Sam's eyes widen, and then narrow when he looks at his sister. "Jamie?"

"You stupid son of a bitch!" Jamie pulls back and then slugs Sam across the face. Sam grabs his face, his jaw dropping as he stares at his sister, rage boiling over in her face. "How could you?" There are tears falling from Jamie's eyes. "Get out!" She seeths. "Go!"

Sam takes a few steps back, looking at his sister. He sighs and turns, walking away. Jamie covers her face with her hand and sobs.

Dean is still in bed, though the breathing tube is gone. Jamie is lying on her side beside him, one arm draped around his stomach. She's asleep. Castiel sits next to them. "Are you all right?" He asks, though he doesn't look at Dean.

"No thanks to you."

"You need to be more careful."

"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap." Jamie opens her eyes and buries her face in Dean's chest. He reaches his hand up limply and strokes her hair.

"That's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?"

"No." Jamie mutters quietly, closing her eyes again.

"It was disobedience. He was working against us."

"Is it true? Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?"

Jamie opens her eyes again, staring at Castiel. "Tell him, Cas."

"Yes. When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to hell and we fought our way to get to you before you—"

Dean cuts him off. "Jump-started the apocalypse."

"And we were too late."

Jamie sighs. "The righteous man shed blood." Dean glances down at her and continues stroking her hair. He stares straight ahead.

"Why didn't you just leave me there, then?"

Castiel is also staring at the wall. "It's not blame that falls on you, Dean, it's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it."

"Lucifer? The apocalypse? What does that mean?" He looks towards Castiel. "Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean!"

"I don't know."

"Bull."

"I don't. Dean, they don't tell me much. I know our fate rests with you."

A tear falls down Dean's face. "Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not strong enough." He pauses, more tears coming. "Jamie?"

Jamie's eyes are red, she's starting to cry. "Yeah, Dean?"

"Are you scared?"

After a moment she nods against his chest.

"You should be. I can't protect you. And if I can't protect you…" His eyes fall again on Castiel. "Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me." He begins to cry. Jamie closes her eyes and begins to sob with him. Castiel looks over at them helpless.


	17. 418 The Monster at the End of this Book

Dean is reclining on the bed, flipping through a book and frowning. Sam is seated by the window with his laptop. There's a knock on the door and Sam gets up and opens it. "Dean, look whose back from angel duty."

Jamie looks at him and then walks inside. "Alright, how bad are we screwed?"

"See for yourself." Sam picks up one of the books and hands it to Jamie. "This is one you're in. Uh, Born Under a Bad Sign."

Jamie takes the book and opens it. She scans the first page and begins to read. "The Impala is parked in an underpass. Jamie and Dean are both there. Dean is on his cell phone, leaning against his car. He is fidgeting, clearly upset. Jamie is beside him on her cell phone. She looks like she hasn't slept in days and she's still wearing the clothes she had on when Dean pulled her from whatever she was hunting. It's evident by the fact that her t-shirt is torn and there's green slime on her jacket…." She closes the book. "What the hell is this?"

Dean looks up. "This is freakin' insane. How's this guy know all this stuff?"

"You got me." Sam says, returning to his laptop.

"Everything is in here. I mean everything. From the racist truck to - to me having sex. I'm full-frontal in here, dude." He gets up and crosses to Sam. "How come we haven't heard of them before?"

Jamie walks over to her brothers. "Yeah, I mean something like this should show up somewhere, right?"

Sam looks up at them. "They're pretty obscure. I mean, almost zero circulation. Uh, started in '05. The publisher put out a couple dozen before going bankrupt. And, uh, the last one "No Rest For The Wicked"  
he turns the laptop towards Dean and Jamie, displaying a web site listing the books. "Ends with you going to hell."

"You're kidding?" Jamie goes over to the bed and shifts through the books. She pulls out "No Rest for the Wicked" and opens it to the last page. "_Through Dean's eyes everything appears green and cloudy. There are chains everywhere, stretched from place to place that he cannot clearly see. He hears rumbles that sound like thunder, and sees flashes like lightening, and screams. Hooks protrude from his arms, shoulders, and legs. His skin is covered with blood and sweat. His mouth fills with blood as he screams again "Help! No! Somebody help me!" He is beyond terrified, the pain is so intense, so ungodly, and all he can think about are his siblings somewhere unknown to him. "Jamie!" He yells for his sister, hoping beyond hope that somehow her psychic abilities can perforate even the mouth of hell itself. Everything is going black, and then he screams the one name that means more to him then life itself. "SAAAAAAAM!_" Jamie gasps and throws the book on the bed. Dean and Sam look at her. "God…who is this guy?"

"I reiterate. Freaking insane." Dean is browsing the site. "Check out. There's actually fans. There's not many of them, but still. Did you read this?"

"Yeah."

Jamie goes over to them and looks over Dean's shoulder.

"Although for fans, they sure do complain a lot. Listen to this – Simpatico says "the demon story line is trite, cliche'd, and overall craptastic." Yeah, well, screw you, Simpatico. We lived it."

"Yeah. Well, keep on reading. It gets better."

Jamie leans in. "Hey there's a whole topic on me. "I just don't understand the point of Jamie's character. She never really solves Sam and Dean's issues, she only comforts them, and most of the time her true function occurs in the background. For instance, whenever we see her she always acts as a mediator between Dean and Sam, even though they don't need one. She never really has a defining moment where she is instrumental in the plot resolution. We never really see her fight, even in Devil's Trap, when she held the Colt she couldn't have shot John if Sam hadn't been holding her steady. And then she gives the gun to Sam and tends to Dean's wounds instead of confronting the demon. And her physical abilities just don't make difference in the grand scheme of the plot, she can blow demons away with the wave of her hand, but most of the time she doesn't. The only saving grace for her character is that again and again we see that she is not all powerful, and even though she manages to evade death in the end, it's not without consequences. For all her physical abilities she is powerless to stop the deaths of her father, her boyfriend, and brothers. She is truly tragic in that she can see the future, but she cannot shape it, she can only warn her loved ones of its coming." What the hell, I've just been psychoanalyzed!"

Sam smirks. "Keep reading."

Dean starts to read. "There are "Sam girls" and "Dean girls" and - what's a "slash fan"?"

Sam looks at him. "As in... Sam-Slash-Dean. Together."

Jamie snickers. "What?"

"Like, together together?"

"Yeah."

"They do know we're brothers, right?"

"Doesn't seem to matter."

"Oh, come on. That... That's just sick." He shuts the laptop in disgust. "We got to find this Carver Edlund."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, I've got a bone to pick with him. "

"Ah, that might not be so easy."

Dean and Jamie look over at him. "Why not?"

"No tax records, no known address. Looks like "Carver Edlund" is a pen name."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Well that's wonderful."

Dean shakes his head. "Somebody's gotta know who he is."

Sam, Jamie and Dean are meeting with the publisher of the "Supernatural" series: a young, attractive woman in a long sweater. She is eager but appears both a little nervous and somewhat skeptical of their intentions.

"So you published the "Supernatural" books?" Sam asks.

"Yep. Yeah. Gosh. These books... You know, they never really got the attention they deserved. All anybody wants to read anymore is that romance crap. You know - "Doctor Sexy, M.D."?" She scoffs. "Please."

Sam tries to smile. "Right. Well, we're hoping that our article can ... shine a light on an underappreciated series."

"Yeah, yeah, because, you know, if we got a little bit of good press then m-maybe we could start publishing again."

Dean's jaw drops. "Oh no, no, no god, no. I mean, why - why would you want to do that? You know, it's, uh, such a complete series, what with Dean going to hell and all."

Jamie smirks lightly, looking at her brother. "I don't know, don't you just wonder what happened to Sam though? I mean, Dean's gone and Ruby's dead, and Jamie…poor Jamie just lost her boyfriend, you gotta want to know what she's gonna do."

The publisher starts getting very emotional. "My god! That was one of my favorite ones, because Dean was so... strong... and sad and brave. Couldn't really get into Jamie, she always seems so unnecessary. But Sam... I mean, the best parts are when they'd cry. You know, like in - In "Heart," When Sam had to kill Madison, the first woman since Jessica he really loved. And in "Home," when Dean had to call John and ask him for help." she turns away. "Gosh... if only real men were so open and in- in touch with their feelings."

Jamie rolls her eyes. Sam and Dean shove her back a step.

"Real men?" Dean asks politely.

"I mean, no offense. How often do you cry like that, hmm?"

"Well, right now, I'm crying on the inside."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"Lady, this whole thing is funny." Dean says sarcastically.

"How do I know you three are legit, hmm?"

"Oh, trust me. We, uh... we're legit."

"Well, I don't want any smart-ass article making fun of my boys."

Jamie has a dark look. "Your boys, huh?" She's obviously not taking that comment well.

"No! No," Sam is stammering.

"No, that's..."

"We - We are actually, um... big fans." Sam looks back at Dean and Jamie.

Jamie shakes her head trying to force a smile. "Oh yeah, of course we are."

"Hmm. You've read the books?"

"Cover to cover." Dean answers.

Jamie turns away. "More than once."

"What's the year and model of the car?"

Dean smirks. "1967 Chevy Impala."

The publisher doesn't look impressed. "The convent where John left Jamie?"

Dean and Sam's faces fall and they looks at their sister who smirks. "Mercyhurst. Sisters of Mercy. Erie, Pennsylvania."

"What's May 2nd?"

"That's my - Uh... that's Sam's birthday."

"Jamie was born the day after."

"January 24th is Dean's."

"Sam's score on the lsat?"

"One... He turns to looking at Dean, at a loss. "Seventy four."

"Inscription on the Colt?"

Jamie looks up. "Non Timebo Mala."

"Dean's favorite song?"

"It's a tie. Between Zep's "Ramble On" and "Traveling Riverside Blues."

Publisher smiles. "Okay. Okay. What do you want to know?"

Sam looks at her. "What's Carver Edlund's real name?"

"Oh, no. No. I'm sorry, I can't."

"We just want to talk to him. You know, get the "supernatural" story in his own words."

The publisher shakes her head. "He's very private. It's like Salinger."

Jamie sighs. She gestures to her chest. Sam looks at her and then towards the publisher.

"Please. Like I said - we are, um..." He unbuttons his shirt, cringing a little, to reveal his demon-protection tattoo. "...big...big fans."

Off Sam's pointed look, Dean rolls his eyes and displays his own tattoo. Jamie pulls up the sleeve of her shirt and displays hers. The woman licks her lips

"Awesome. You know what?" She turns around and hikes up her skirt, showing them her tattoo on her ass. "I got one, too."

Dean spends a moment too long looking. He looks up at her with a smile. "Whoa. You are a fan."

"Okay." she scribbles something on a pad of paper. "His name's Chuck Shirley. And he's a genius, so don't piss him off."

Dean, Jamie and Sam are in the Impala driving. Jamie suddenly sucks in her breath and gets a vision. She sees a printer which is spitting out several pages. Chuck comes into view wearing boxers, an undershirt, and a bathrobe, and stuffing the end of a slice of pizza in his mouth. He sits at the desk, pulls the pages from the printer, and clears his throat. "Sam Jamie and Dean approached the run-Down..." he sighs. "...Approached the ramshackle house with trepidation."

Jamie's vision ends when Dean pulls up to the house. She takes another breath, her eyes darting around before she climbs out behind her brothers.

"Did they really want to learn the secrets that lay beyond that door?"

Jamie stops behind Dean and Sam in front of the door. The siblings share a look, and shrug.

"Sam Jamie and Dean traded soulful looks." Dean rings the doorbell. "Then, with determination, Dean pushed the doorbell with forceful... determination." Chuck tosses the pages down in frustration. "Ugh!"

The doorbell rings. He looks up, nervous, then goes to answer it. He pulls back the door revealing the Winchesters.

"You Chuck Shirley?" Dean asks.

"The Chuck Shirley who wrote the "Supernatural" books?" Sam asks.

"Maybe. Why?"

"We got a couple questions for you." Jamie says.

Dean puts to himself. "I'm Dean. This is Sam. The Dean and Sam you've been writing about."

"And I'm Jamie."

Chuck chuckles nervously. "Look, uh... I appreciate your enthusiasm. Really, I do. It's, uh, it's always nice to hear from the fans. But, uh, for your own good, I strongly suggest you get a life." He tries to shut the door, but Dean puts out a hand to stop it.

"See, here's the thing. We have a life. You've been using it to write your books." He shoves the door open and enters, forcing Chuck to back up into the house.

"Now, wait a minute. Now, this isn't funny."

"Really?" Jamie asks, turning to him.

"Damn straight, it's not funny." Dean tells him, his voice dangerously low.

"Look, we just want to know how you're doing it." Sam says calmly.

"I'm not doing anything."

Dean stares at him. "Are you a hunter?"

"What? No. I'm a writer."

"Then how do you know so much about demons? And Tulpas, and changelings?"

Jamie takes a step forward. "And everything else in our lives."

"Is this some kind of "Misery" thing? Ah, it is, isn't it? It's a "Misery" thing!"

Dean looks confused. "No, it's not a "Misery" thing. Believe me, we are not fans!"

"Well, then, what do you want?!"

Sam sighs and puts his hand on his chest. "I'm Sam. That's Dean. And that's Jamie."

Chuck shakes his head. "Sam Jamie and Dean are fictional characters. I made them up! They're not real!"

Dean looks and at him and sighs, his mouth twisting into annoyed look. "Any ideas?" He asks, looking over his shoulder at his siblings.

"Show him the car?" Sam suggests.

"Come on." Jamie leads the way outside.

Dean opens the trunk of the Impala, displaying the arsenal. Chuck looks shocked. "Are those real guns?"

"Yup. This is real rock salt, these are real fake ids." Dean picks up the ids and then tosses them back down.

Jamie points to her black leather book. "And my real book of exorcisms. Meg, Dan, and Sam tested."

"Well, I got to hand it to you guys. You really are my number one fans." He's still very nervous. "That's, that's awesome. So, I-I think I've got some posters in the house."

"Chuck, stop." Dean says.

"Please wait. Please, don't hurt me."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Please, we're not going to hurt you."

Sam turns to him. "How much do you know? Do you know about the angels? Or Lilith breaking the seals? Or that Jamie's a prophet?"

Chuck stares at Sam. "Wait a minute. How do you know about that?"

Dean looks at him "The question is how do you know."

"Because I wrote it?"

Jamie looks surprised. "What?"

"You kept writing?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt, but those books never came out. Okay, wait a minute. This is some kind of joke, right? Did that - Did Phil put you up to this?"

"Oh God. Um…" Jamie looks around, and then takes off her silver hunter's bracelet. "By the way, you might why explain the significance of this, because most of your fans think it's a cheap piece that Dad just picked up and gave to me as an apology for missing my birthday." She holds the bracelet in her hand and stares at it. It levitates up and then back down.

Chuck's eyes bug out. "That's uh…nice party trick. "

Dean shakes his head and then offers his hand. "Well, nice to meet you. I'm Dean Winchester, and this is my brother, Sam, and my sister Jamie."

"The last names were never in the books. I never told any about that. I never even wrote that down."

Chuck pours himself a large whisky and gulps it down, then sets the glass on the kitchen sink. He turns around, sees Sam, Jamie and Dean, and groans.

"Oh! Oh, you're still there."

"Yup." Dean says.

"You're not a hallucination."

"Nope."

"Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god."

Jamie crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself."

Sam shoots her a look and then turns back to Chuck. "You're not a god."

"How else do you explain it? I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through - The physical beatings alone."

Dean smirks. "Yeah, we're still in one piece." He looks at his sister.

Jamie smirks. "Mostly."

"I killed your father. I burned your mother alive. And then you had to go through the whole horrific deal again with Jessica."

"Chuck..."

"All for what? All for the sake of literary symmetry. I toyed with your lives, your emotions, for...Entertainment."

"You didn't toy with us, Chuck, okay? You didn't create us." Dean tells him.

Jamie nods. "You're just reiterating what happened to us. Well, to them…more than me." She gets an odd look on her face.

"Did you really have to live through the bugs?"

"Yeah."

"What about the ghost ship?"

"Yes, that too."

"I am so sorry. I mean, horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing... if I would have known it was real, I would have done another pass."

Dean shakes his head. "Chuck, you're not a god!"

Sam nods. "We think you're probably just psychic."

Jamie grins. "Like me, lucky you." She frowns.

"No. If I were psychic, you think I'd be writing? Writing is hard."

"And being a psychic is easy?" Jamie shoots back. "I've living life like 10 minutes ahead of real time, sometimes more."

Sam pushes Jamie back. "It seems that somehow, you're just... focused on our lives."

"Yeah, like laser-focused. Are you working on anything right now?"

Chuck thinks on Dean's question and then realizes something. "Holy crap."

"What?"

He picks up the pages he was reading earlier. "The, uh, latest book? It's, uh, it's kind of weird."

"Weird" how?" Sam asks.

"It's very Vonnegut."

"Slaughterhouse-Five" Vonnegut or "Cat's Cradle" Vonnegut?" Dean asks intently.

"What?" Sam asks, surprised.

"What?" Dean repeats, defensively.

"God, boys." Jamie scoffs and shakes her head.

"It's, uh, "Kilgore Trout" Vonnegut. I wrote myself into it. I wrote myself, at my house... confronted by my characters."

Dean, Sam, and Jamie stare at him.

Sam is doing laundry at the laundry mat as Dean and Jamie sit nearby, reading from Chuck's latest manuscript.

""I'm sitting in a laundromat, reading about myself sitting in a laundromat reading about myself -– My head hurts." Dean says, looking up.

"My head hurts more then it usually does. And not in the fun 'oh boy a demon' way." Jamie tells him, rubbing her temple.

"Jamie struggled to comprehend being confronted with having her own life dictated to her. Even though she was used to being out of step with reality, this newest revelation placed her even more out of step." Dean reads.

"I hate him."

"I hate him." She muttered, looking at Dean apprehensively. She always turned to her big brother in moments like these, when the world didn't make sense, when she herself felt lost and unsure, despite knowing the future." Jamie shakes her head, glaring at Dean. "But unfortunately her big brother was not in the mood to take his little's sisters agonizing personal fears seriously, and instead he openly mocked them by continuing to beret her with the story they were currently living."

"There's got to be something this guy's not telling us." Sam turns to toss his darks into the machine. Dean continues reading.

"Sam tossed his gigantic darks into the machine. He was starting to have doubts about Chuck, about whether he was telling the whole truth."

"Stop it."

"'Stop it,' Sam said." Guess what you do next. Sam turns away, scowling. "Sam turned his back on Dean, his face brooding and pensive." I mean, I don't know how he's doing it, but this guy is doing it."

"Give me that!" Jamie snatches the manuscript from Dean's hands.

"I can't see your face, but those are definitely your "brooding and pensive" shoulders." Sam sighs, exasperated. Jamie looks down at the manuscript.

"Sammy, you just thought that Dean's a dick."

Sam turns around to his siblings, impressed. "The guy's good."

Sam, Jamie and Dean are back at Chuck's, and Chuck paces nervously, as if building up the courage to speak. He holds more pages in his hands.

"So... You wrote another chapter?" Sam asks.

"This was all so much easier before you were real."

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "We can take it; just spit it out."

"You especially are not gonna like this."

"I didn't like hell." Dean shoots back.

Jamie looks at Chuck. "Well now I know, so you might as well tell them."

"Oh, right. Well, It's Lilith. She's coming for Sam."

"Coming to kill him?" Dean asks.

"Yes." Jamie says before Chuck can answer.

"When?"

"Tonight."

Dean looks skeptical. "She's just gonna show up? Here?"

Jamie looks at Chuck and telekinetically rips the pages from his hands. Chuck looks a little hurt. Jamie glares at him before scanning the pages. "Lilith patted the bed seductively. Unable to deny his desire, Sam succumbed, and they sank into the throes of fiery demonic PASSION? What in the hell?" She looks up at her brothers and then to Chuck and then back to her brothers. Chuck shrugs.

Sam laughs. "You're kidding me, right?"

"You think this is funny?" Dean asks.

"You don't? I mean, come on. "Fiery demonic passion"?"

"Sammy getting laid?" Jamie interjects, earning her a glare from her twin.

Dean nods. "Good point."

"Hey!"

Chuck shrugs again, taking his pages back from Jamie. "It's just a first draft."

Dean looks at Chuck. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Lilith is a little girl."

Chuck shakes his head. "No, uh, this time she's a - "Comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana."

The older hunter rolls his eyes. "Great. Perfect. So what happens after the... "Fiery demonic" whatever?"

"I don't know, it hasn't come to me yet."

Dean and Sam both turn to their sister. "Jamie?" Dean asks.

Jamie glares at Dean and rolls her eyes. "Give me a minute…" She closes her eyes. After a moment she opens them and gestures for Sam. He goes over to her. She takes his hand and closes her eyes again. She shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Sam asks. He looks at her and then at Dean. "Well then. Dean, look, there's nothing to worry about. Jamie can't see anything and besides Lilith and me? In bed?"

"It's usually a bad thing when Jamie can't see anything." Dean glares at Sam while speaking to Chuck. "How does this whole psychic thing of yours work?

"You mean my process?"

"Yes, your "process."

"Well, it usually starts with a headache. A really bad headache. Aspirin is useless, so... I drink. Until I fall asleep. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a crazy dream."

Jamie squeezes Sam's hand, finally opening her eyes. "Wait, wait wait. Headache?" She looks at Sam. "Headaches. Like we get. Like I get. A lot." She looks at Chuck.

"So that was the first time you dreamt about us?"

"It flowed. It just, it kept flowing. Still does. I-I can't stop it, really."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Okay that definitely sounds like me."

Sam looks at his siblings. "You can't seriously believe –"

Dean cuts him off. "Humor me." He stands; Chuck holds up the manuscript for him. "Look, why don't we, we just..." he takes the manuscript. "Take a look at these and see what's what. You –"

Jamie nods. "Yup."

"...knew you were gonna ask for that. Yeah."

Dean is driving, Sam sits beside him reading the latest chapter. Jamie is in the backseat rubbing her head. "Well at least he gave me a real headache instead of an evil one."

"There's aspirin in the medkit." Sam says looking at his sister before turning back at to Dean. "Dean, come on." He starts reading. "The minivan accident wasn't that bad, but Dean was still seeing stars. He scratched absently at the pink-Flower band-Aids on his face."

"Pink flower band-Aids?" Jamie asks.

"So?" Dean isn't impressed.

"So, I've seen you gushing blood. You'd use duct tape and bar rags before you'd put on a pink-Flower band-Aid."

"What's your point?"

"My point is this - all of this - is-is totally implausible, it's nuts."

"Not convinced back here."

"He's been right about everything so far. You think he's just gonna ground out at first now?"

Sam scoffs, and continues reading. "Dean slid behind the wheel of his beloved Impala and drove off, the plastic tarp on the rear window flapping like the wings of a crow."

"A tarp?" Dean looks over at Sam.

"On his baby?" Jamie asks.

"Yeah. On the rear window. And you drive it like that."

"Well, he might be wrong about the details, but doesn't mean he's wrong about the end result."

"So we're just gonna run?"

"Dude, we are a long way from ready for a face-to-face death match with Lilith."

Jamie moves up closer to Sam and Dean. "This is true, but I don't think we have a choice."

Sam glances back at her. "What is it?"

"Bridge is out ahead."

They come to a roadblock and come to a stop. A deputy leans over to talk to Dean. "What seems to be the problem?"

The deputy repeats Jamie's words. "Bridge is out ahead."

Dean looks back briefly at his brother and sister. "We're just trying to get out of town."

"Yeah, afraid not."

"Is there a detour?"

"Nope."

"There's not a side road that takes us to the highway?"

"To get to the highway, you have to cross that river. To cross the river, you have to take that bridge."

Dean sighs. "How deep's the river?"

"Sorry. Afraid you kids are gonna have to spend the night in town."

Dean looks displeased. Jamie looks worried. Sam shakes his head.

Later that night in the diner Dean reads over the manuscript as Sam and Jamie look over a menu.

Dean sighs. "Hey, this could be a good thing. I mean, if this is what puts us on the path to Lilith, then all we got to do is get off the path."

Sam looks at him. "How do you mean?"

"It's a blueprint of what not to do. I mean, if the pages say that we go left –"

"Then we go right."

"Exactly. We get off-book. We never make it to the end. It's opposite day."

Jamie finally looks up. "It's not going to work."

"You don't know that." Jamie gives Sam a look. "Unless you know that."

"You can't mess with destiny. We've tried." She glances at Dean.

Dean shakes his head. "Well let's try again. It says that we, uh, we get into a fight. So, no fighting. No research for you..."

"No bacon cheeseburger for you." Sam adds.

Dean looks slightly put out. "Yeah, no problem. I'll just order something else." The waitress approaches. "Hi, uh, what's good?"

"Well, if you like burgers, Oprah's girlfriend said we have the best bacon cheeseburgers in the country."

"Really?"

Sam looks up at her. "I'll just have the cobb salad, please. Jamie what do you want?"

"Uh…just bring me tonight's special."

Dean looks down at the menu. "I'll have the... veggie tofu burger. Thanks."

She takes their menus and leaves.

Sam shakes his head. "This whole thing's ridiculous."

"Lilith is ridiculous?" Dean asks.

Jamie shakes her head. "No."

"The idea of me hooking up with her is." Sam finishes.

"Right. 'Cause something like that can never happen." Dean says off-handly.

Jamie looks at her twin. "Sam. Sam…"

Sam starts to scowl, then controls himself. "Dean, for the first time, we have warning that Lilith is close."

"So?"

"So... we've got the jump on her. If we know when she's coming, we know where she's – this is an opportunity."

Jamie sits back and crosses her arms.

"Are you –" Dean is trying very hard not to get angry. "It frustrates me when you say such reckless things."

"Well, it frustrates me when you'd rather hide that fight."

Jamie looks at her brothers. "It frustrates me that neither of you realize what's going on."

The waitress comes up with their food. "Cobb salad for you. Here's the special. And the tofu veggie burger for you."

"Thank you." The waitress leaves; Dean leans in close. "It's not hiding. It's being smart. It's picking your battles. And this is a battle that we are not ready to fight."

Dean picks up his burger. Jamie realizes something. "Dean…wait!"

He takes a huge bite of his burger and his eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, my god. This is delicious. Tofu is amazing!"

"That isn't tofu." Jamie mutters.

"What?"

The waitress comes back, flustered. "I am so sorry. I gave you the bacon cheeseburger by mistake."

Jamie broods. Sam scowls.

Sam, Jamie and Dean drive up to a very sleazy-looking motel and pull into the parking lot.

Jamie looks disgusted. "Dude, this place charges by the hour."

Sam turns to Dean. "I'm not taking our sister in there!"

"Yeah, well, the book says Lilith finds you at the Red Motel. Hence, the uh, hooker inn. It's opposite day, remember?"

They go inside and Dean drops a bag on the bed and starts pulling out items. He takes a few small string-tied bags and places them around the room.

"Hex bags?" Jamie asks.

"What are you doing?"

"Couple of these ought to Lilith-Proof the room."

"So, what? I'm supposed to just hole up here all night?" Sam asks.

"That's exactly what you're gonna do, okay? And no research. I don't care what you do - Use the magic fingers or, watch Casa Erotica on Pay-Per-View." He reaches into Sam's bag and pulls out Sam's laptop, smiling.

"Oh, dude, come on." Sam reaches for the laptop and Dean holds it out of reach.

Jamie sits down on the bed, awkwardly and pulls out her book.

"Just call it a little insurance." Dean tells him.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Well, the pages say that I spend all day riding around in the Impala. So I'm gonna go park her. Behave yourself, would you? No homework. Watch some porn."

"Dean!" Jamie yells from the bed.

"What? You're free to come and go as you please." He smiles, pleased with himself, and leaves. Sam fumes. Jamie rolls her eyes.

A few minutes later she looks up from her book. "Jamie?" Sam asks. Jamie sees Dean park the Impala and get out. He checks the doors, then walks away across the street. Moments later, he looks back to see two teenagers attempting to break into the car. He runs towards them.

"Hey!"

A van careens towards him; he can't get out of the way in time, and it hits him. He is knocked to the ground, unconscious.

"Damnit!" Jamie blinks and gets up from the bed.

"What is it? What's wrong." Sam asks, going over to her.

"Dean's hurt."

Sam looks at the papers on the bed. "The manuscript?"

Jamie glares at him. "No the Jamiescript. I told you, you can't mess with destiny." She gets up and grabs her jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"To get Dean." Jamie opens the door to reveal Chuck. "What are you doing here?"

"Sam wanted to see me?"

"Yeah."

Jamie turns back to her twin. "So much for no research, Sammy."

"Jamie…"

Chuck speaks up. "If you're gonna look for Dean I'd try…"

Jamie turns back to him sharply. "I know where he is, I don't need you to tell me."

Chuck looks down. "Of course. Right."

Jamie leaves. Looking around shiftily, Sam opens the door wider and Chuck enters. He shuts the door behind him.

"Don't worry about her." Sam tells him.

Chuck nods. "Right. She's dealing with a lot of things. Andrew's death is still at the forefront of her mind. She's always so sad and lonely."

"Jamie? Really? I hadn't noticed."

"How could you not? You haven't noticed how she clings to Dean? She sits up and cries all night. And you…"

"What about me?"

"Well she feels betrayed by you."

Dean wakes slowly, still lying in the middle of the road. A woman hovers above him; she has very long dangling earrings shaped like stars. "Oh my god. Just take it easy, you're gonna be okay."

"Stars." Dean mutters incoherently.

"What was that?" He blinks and tries to raise his head. "I'm so sorry. I just didn't see you. Are you okay?" He sits up. "And sorry about... you know." She indicates a young girl standing nearby. "M-My daughter's going through a doctor phase."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're all better now."

The left side of Dean's face, which is covered in pink flowery Band-Aids. Jamie walks up to them.

"Dean." Jamie grabs his arm and helps him up.

"Jamie? Hey. Where's…" He looks across the street and stares in horror: The Impala's back window is shattered. "No..." He approaches the car, fuming. He catches a glimpse of himself in the side window and sees the Band-Aids. Frowning, he slowly peels one off. Jamie looks at him.

"Are you going to listen to me yet?"

Dean glares at her.

Dean drives along, still fuming. A tarp covers the rear window, flapping like the wings of a crow. Jamie is in the passenger seat with her arms crossed looking mildly amused.

They end up back at Chuck's. Chuck, carrying a bottle in a brown bag and six-pack of cans, unlocks the door to his house and enters. He walks in slowly and does not appear very surprised to find Dean and Jamie sitting in his living room.

"Dean. Jamie."

"I take it you knew we'd be here." Dean says.

"You look terrible, Dean." Chuck tells him.

"That's 'cause I just got hit by a minivan, Chuck."

"Oh."

"That it? Every damn thing you write about me comes true; that's all you have to say to me is "oh"?!"

Jamie sighs, her arms crossed. "Dean, calm down."

"Please don't yell at me."

"Why do I get feeling there's something that you're not telling us?" Dean asks.

"What wouldn't I be telling you?"

Jamie moves closer to her brother. "Dean…"

"How you know what you know, for starters!"

"I don't know how I know, I just do!"

Jamie goes for her brother. "Dean, don't!"

"That's not good enough." He shoves Chuck against the wall. Jamie goes over and grabs Dean's arm. "How the hell are you doing this?!"

Castiel appears. "Dean, let him go!" Dean releases Chuck and turns to face the angel.

Jamie looks at him. "Cas. About damn time."

"This man is to be protected." Castiel tells them.

"Why?"

Castiel looks at Jamie and then at Dean. "He's a Prophet of the Lord."

"You... You're Castiel... aren't you?" Chuck asks.

"It's an honor to meet you, Chuck. I...admire your work." He picks up one of the books and starts paging through it.

Dean is still in shock. "Whoa, whoa, what? This guy, a prophet? Come on, he's - he's... he's practically a penthouse forum writer." He turns to Chuck. "Did you know about this?"

Chuck has stumbled over to his armchair; he cracks open a fresh bottle of whisky and pours himself some. "I, uh, I might have dreamt about it."

"And you didn't tell us?!"

"It was too preposterous. Not to mention arrogant. I mean, writing yourself into the story is one thing, but as a prophet? That's like M. Night-level douchiness." He finishes this tirade and desperately gulps down the whisky.

"This is the guy who decides our fate?" Dean asks, quietly to Castiel.

Jamie sighs, turning to her brother. "I've been trying to tell you. You cannot mess with fate, especially when it comes from one who sees."

"One who sees?" Dean looks at her.

Jamie nods. "Yes. Like I do."

Castiel nods. "He isn't deciding anything. He's a mouthpiece - A conduit for the inspired word. Like Jamie."

"The word? The word of god? What, like the new new testament?"

Castiel gestures to the book in his hand. "One day, these books - They'll be known as the Winchester gospel."

"You got to be kidding me." Dean and Chuck say together. Jamie however doesn't look impressed.

"I am not... kidding you.'

"He's not kidding. Castiel speaks the truth." Jamie adds.

"If you'd both please excuse me one minute." Chuck says, fed up. He stands, still clutching the bottle, and disappears upstairs.

Dean gestures to the stairs. "Him? Really? I mean Jamie, I get. Her's is a manifestation of belonging to this screwed up family, but him?"

Castiel shrugs. "You should've seen Luke."

"Why'd he get tapped?"

"I don't know how prophets are chosen. The order comes from high up on the celestial chain of command."

"How high?"

"Very." Castiel and Jamie say at the same time.

"Well, whatever. How do we get around this?"

"Around what?"

Jamie looks at Cas. "The Sam-Lilith thing. He wants to know how to stop it."

Castiel looks at Dean and then at Jamie. "Jamie, you know…what the prophet has written cannot be unwritten."

Jamie nods. "As he has seen it, so it shall come to pass." She turns to Dean. "Like I told you."

Dean drives to the motel with Jamie, parks, and gets out of the car. He notices the altered sign, that it now reads "Red" as Chuck's manuscript had predicted. He looks at Jamie, shakes his head and goes to the room. "Come on. We're getting out of here." He tells Sam.

Jamie starts packing.

"What? Where?" Sam asks.

"Anywhere, okay? Out of this motel, out of this town. I don't care if we got to swim, we are getting out." He looks around, confused. "Dude, where are all the hex bags?"

Jamie notices too. "Sam…" She looks back at her twin.

"I burned them." He confesses.

"You what?"

"Look, if Lilith is coming, which is a big "if" –"

"No, no, no. It's more than an "if." Chuck is not a psychic. He's a prophet."

Jamie gets an odd look on her face. "He's both, really."

"What?"

"Cas showed up, and apparently Chuck is writing the gospel of us." Dean tells him.

Jamie smirks. "The Gospel of the Winchesters according to Chuck."

"Okay." Is Sam's reply.

"Okay. Let's get the hell out of here."

Jamie stares at Sam. "He's not going."

"No." Sam nods.

"Lilith is gonna slaughter you." Dean says, almost desperate.

"Maybe she will, maybe she won't."

"So what? You think you can take her?"

"Only one way to find out, Dean, and I say bring her on."

"Sam..."

"You think I'll do it, don't you? You think I'll go dark side."

Jamie steps back from her brothers.

"Yes! Okay? Yes. The way you've been acting lately? The things you've been doing?" Sam looks up, startled. "Oh, I know. How you ripped Alastair apart like it was nothing, like you were swatting a fly. Cas told me, okay?"

Sam looks at him. "Cas, not Jamie?" He looks back at her. "Cause with the way she clings to you I thought she'd have ratted me out."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Jamie asks.

"I don't care what it means. Jamie tell him."

"Tell him what, Dean? I'm sitting this one out. You haven't been listening to me all day, don't start now." She grabs her jacket and goes outside.

"Jamie. Jamie!" Dean yells after her.

Jamie plots down in the grass by the side of the road, tears streaming down her face. Castiel appears next to her. She wipes her eyes and turns away.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk, prophetess."

Fresh tears fall and she wipes them away roughly. "I miss him so damn much." She looks at Castiel. "It hurts, Cas. It hurts a lot."

Castiel looks at her, moving a strand of hair away from her face. "When Dean was in hell, you didn't have time to mourn him. You were mourning the death of one brother and the loss of the other. Now you have both brothers again."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, I don't. Sam is so far gone…Dean is all I have left." She wipes her eyes. "If I didn't think it would destroy Dean I'd let Lilith walk in and kill Sam."

"Jamie…"

"How am I supposed to live with that feeling, Castiel? That I would kill my own brother? My twin."

"Sam betrayed you. But that doesn't mean he's doomed to darkness. Your father…before he died."

"He told Dean that if he couldn't save Sam he'd have to kill him."

"What did you tell Dean?"

"He asked me what if he couldn't save him. I asked him what if he couldn't kill him. What is this inside me, Castiel? What is this that makes me feel this way? Is it because Sam betrayed me and Dean, is that why? I don't understand this!" She cries. "He's my brother!"

Castiel sighs. "Dean is calling for me."

Jamie looks up. "He'll want to know how to save Sam." She wipes her eyes.

"Yes." He puts his hand on her back. "What would you have me do?"

Jamie looks at him.

"Screw you. You and your mission. Your God. If you don't help me now, then when the time comes and you need me...don't bother knocking." Dean brushes past Castiel and begins to walk away. Jamie walks up and stands beside Castiel.

"Dean!"

Dean turns around and looks at his sister. "What?"

Castiel looks at Jamie. Jamie nods. "You must understand why Cas can't intercede. Prophets are very special. They're protected."

"I get that."

Jamie looks at Castiel. "If anything threatens a prophet, anything at all, an archangel will appear  
to destroy that threat. Archangels are fierce. They're absolute. They're heaven's most terrifying weapon." Castiel explains.

"And these archangels, they're tied to prophets?"

"Yes."

"So why haven't you guys come to smite everything Jamie's involved with?"

Jamie smirks. "I've never been threatened."

"Jamie's a special case. She is…"

Jamie glares at him. "Later, Cas."

"Okay. So if a prophet who isn't Jamie was in the same room as a demon –"

"Then the most fearsome wrath of heaven would rain down on that demon. Just so you understand... why I can't help."

"Thanks, Cas. Come on Jamie."

Dean turns to leave.

"Good luck." Castiel tells him. He looks at Jamie. Jamie looks at him and then heads after Dean.

Chuck is sprawled on his couch when Dean and Jamie enter; this time, Chuck does look surprised to see them. "What are you doing here? I didn't write this."

Dean manhandles him. "Come on. I need you to come with me."

Jamie grabs unto him as well. "Get going."

"What? Where?"

"To the motel where Sam is." Dean tells him.

"That's where Lilith is."

"Yeah, exactly. we need you to stop her."

"Are you insane? Lilith? I know what she's capable of, Dean – I wrote her. Jamie, talk to him."

Jamie is deadpan. "I would listen to Dean right now."

"Right, listen to me. You have an archangel tethered to you,okay? All you got to do is show up and boom! - Lilith gets smoked."

"But I-I haven't seen that yet. Th-the story –"

"Chuck, you're the only shot that we've got left." Dean almost begs.

"But...I'm just a writer."

Jamie's expression softens. "You are so much more than that."

"This isn't a story anymore, man. This is real! And you're in it! Now, I need you to get off your ass and fight. Come on, Chuck."

"No friggin' way."

Jamie looks at her brother. "Give him the alternative Dean."

"What?"

'"You heard her. I've got a gun in my pocket, and if you don't come with me, I'll blow your brains out." Dean is very serious. Jamie smirks slightly.

"I thought you said I was protected by an archangel." Chuck says, though not very confidently.

Dean pauses for a moment. "Well, interesting exercise then. I won't do it, Jamie will. Let's see who the quicker draw is, your archangel or hers."

Chuck looks at both Winchesters and then hurries to get his jacket. When his back is turned Dean turns to Jamie and smirks. Jamie grins and hugs her brother.

"You've got to be joking." Lilith leaves Sam and approaches Chuck. Jamie walks in behind Chuck and Dean. She has a dark look on her face.

"I'm not laughing." She closes her eyes and spreads her arms out. "Ego vox clamantis in deserto. Invocábo archangelis. Michael. Raphael. Gabriel."

Dean smirks. "This is no joke." The room begins to tremble, and a great white light pours in through the windows. This builds over the following. "See, Chuck here's got an archangel on his shoulder, and Jamie…well she's just extra special. You've got about 10 seconds before this room is full of wrath and you're a piece of charcoal. You sure you want to tangle with that?"

Lilith gives Sam one last look, then pours screaming out of her vessel's mouth.

Dean is driving, Sam is in the passenger's seat. Jamie is in the back seat. The rear window is still busted, still clumsily covered in a tarp flapping in the wind.

"So a deal, huh?" Dean glances at his brother.

"That's what she said."

"To call the whole thing off - Angels, seals, Lucifer rising, the whole nine?"

"That was the gist of it."

Jamie rises an eyebrow. "Wow."

"Huh." Dean says.

"What?"

"You didn't think once about taking it?"

"You kidding me? Dude, you spent all day trying to talk me off the Lilith track."

"I'm just saying..."

"She would have found some way to weasel out of it. And all it would have cost us was our lives."

Jamie looks up. "Your lives, not mine. Don't forget that little detail."

Dean looks back at Jamie and then to Sam. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Anyway, that's not the point."

"What's the point?" Dean asks.

Jamie moves closer to them. "The point is, she's scared."

Sam nods. "Exactly. I could see it. Lilith is running."

"Running from what?"

"Don't know. But she was telling the truth about one thing."

"What's that?"

"She's not gonna survive the apocalypse. I'll make sure of that."

Jamie frowns and looks out the window.


	18. 419 Jump the Shark

The Impala is parked next to a lake. Sam is leaning against the hood, brushing his teeth. Jamie is sitting on the hood reading. Dean is lying across the front seat, head and shoulders up against the door. He twists around, getting Sam's attention, and opens the door, which nearly dumps him on the ground.

"Hey. How'd you sleep?" Sam asks.

Dean climbs out of the car. "How do you think? I'm starving. Let's get breakfast."

Jamie looks up from her book. "I agree."

Sam looks at them. "Where? We're like two hours from anything."

"But I'm hungry now." Dean whines as he comes around to the front of the car. He kisses Jamie and she hits him.

"There's probably still a sandwich in the back seat."

Jamie is staring at her book again. "There was, I don't think you want to eat it."

Dean turns around, rubbing a hand over his face, and reaches in through the open back window, pulling out a paper bag. He opens the bag and sniffs, then leans his head back and inhales, looking nauseous. "It's tuna."

"Phone." Jamie says, flipping a page.

Dean looks at her. "Huh?" A phone rings inside the car. Dean tosses the bag back into the back seat and puts his hands to his jeans pockets. Sam spits out toothpaste foam. Dean leans in through the front window and rummages in the glove compartment, Jamie gets off the hood and leans in on the other side. She pulls out the ringing phone and hands it over to Dean. He hits his head on the roof as he tries to get out.

"Ow." Jamie mutters.

Dean smirks. "No kidding."

She shakes her head. "No, ow, like…answer the phone Dean."

He looks at the phone. Sam turns around and looks at it too. "Isn't that Dad's phone?"

Dean flips the phone open, presses a button, and puts it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Uh, is this John?" The voice on the other end asks.

"He can't come to the phone. Can I help you?"

"No no no—I really—I need to talk to John. This is Adam Milligan. He knows me."

"Well, sorry to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago." A shocked sound comes from the voice on the other end. "Who is this?"

There's a pause. Jamie and Sam look at each other. "I'm his son." The voice finally says. Dean stares.

The Impala parks next to Cousin Oliver's Hilltop Cafe. Dean Jamie and Sam get out of the car. Sam is holding a bunch of papers. "Dean, look, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real." Dean unlocks and opens the trunk, then the weapons box. Jamie sticks her head inside. Sam reads from a paper in an open folder. "Um, born September twenty-ninth, 1990 to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout." Dean pulls assorted weapons out of the trunk, including Ruby's knife. Jamie hands him a few more things. She gets her handgun and tucks it into the back of her pants before tying her flannel shirt over it. "Graduated from high school with honors and currently goes to the University of Wisconsin—biology major, pre-med." Dean closes the weapons box. Jamie steps back. "Dean? Jamie? You listening?" Jamie gives Sam a look.

"This is a trap." Dean closes the trunk and heads past Sam. Sam closes the folder and hands it Jamie. Jamie opens it and then runs after Dean.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam enter the diner with a bell ringing at the door. There's a Man at the counter, a Waitress serving a burger, a couple other customers. Dean and Sam scan opposite halves of the diner Jamie is between them; Dean sees an empty table in a corner with four chairs. He pulls one of the chairs away from the table. Jamie moves and takes the chair.

Dean and Sam sit in the two chairs on the other side of the table, Jamie sits on the chair Dean pulled over to their side, ensuring that Adam will sit in the last chair. Sam thumps John's journal and the folder on the table. "Guys, I'm telling you, the kid checks out."

Dean turns sharply to Sam. "Great, so he's an actual person on the planet Earth. Sucks he's got a demon in him."

Jamie sighs. "We don't know that for sure."

The waitress approaches the table with menus and glasses of water; she gives them each a glass. "Hi. Welcome to Cousin Oliver's."

"Thanks." Sam says.

"Can I—"

Jamie looks up. "Not yet."

"We're actually waiting on somebody." Dean adds. The waitress, annoyed, slaps down a menu in front of each of them.

"Thank you." Sam says again. He picks up his menu long enough to slap it down. Dean takes his glass and pours it into the potted plant behind him. Jamie looks over at him. "What are you—" Dean puts the glass between his knees and pulls out a flask, unscrewing the top.

"It's Holy water." Jamie tells her twin.

"Yup." Under the table, Dean fills the glass with water from the flask. "One sip of Jesus juice, this evil bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt."

"You're gonna make my head hurt." Jamie whines.

The waitress walks past; when she is out of sight, Dean puts the glass in front of the fourth place at the table. He pulls out a felt-wrapped package and undoes it.

"And what if he's not possessed?" Sam asks.

"Then he is a shapeshifter." Dean's package contains silver cutlery, which he sets at the fourth place at the table, removing the silverware already there and dropping it on the floor.

"Hence the silver." Jamie takes John's journal from Sam.

Dean looks up at Sam. "Look, either way, this thing is gonna bleed. I mean, using Dad as bait? That's the last mistake of its short, pitiful life." Jamie frowns deeply as she reads the bookmarked entry. Sam frowns, watching DEAN, who looks over. "What?"

Sam looks away. "Dean…you need to look at this." Jamie puts the journal in front of him. "From January of 1990, saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case. That's, roughly, oh, about nine months before the kid was born."

"Coincidence."

"The next two pages of his journal are torn out." Jamie indicates the remains of the pages.

"These must have been deliberately left, because the journal is clearly a three-ring add-and-remove-pages type." Sam says sarcastically.

Dean rolls his eyes. "You two are not actually buying this, are you?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I don't know."

"Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible." Sam closes the journal and picks it up, waving it. "I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time, and he wasn't exactly a monk. I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl...sometimes the girl's grateful."

Jamie squeezes her eyes shut. "God, Sam. Come on."

Dean shakes his head. "Well, now I'm thinking about Dad sex. Stop talking."

"Maybe he slipped one past the goalie."

"Dude!" Jamie waves her hand and John's journal smacks Sam in the face. It falls back on Sam's lap.

"Ow." Sam puts the journal away. The door chimes. A young man with close cropped blonde hair and blue eyes walks in. Sam looks up, then Dean then Jamie. Adam looks around, looking for the unfamiliar faces.

"Adam?" He looks over. Sam raises a hand. The young man walks over.

"You Sam?"

"Yeah. Uh, this is Dean." He indicates his brother.

"Hey." He nods to Dean.

Sam points to his twin. "And this is our sister, Jamie."

Dean looks at Jamie. She shakes her head, indicating she doesn't have a headache. Adam is therefore nothing that normally triggers her ability. Adam sets his backpack on the floor next to the empty chair and takes that chair. The door chimes again.

"So, um...how did you know my dad?" Adam asks.

Sam looks up. "Uh, we worked together."

Adam's facial expressions indicate confusion. "How did he die?"

"On the job."

"He was a mechanic, right?"

"A car fell on him." Dean says bluntly.

"Dean." Jamie nudges him.

The waitress comes up to the table, much friendlier. She clearly knows Adam. "Hey, Adam. How you doing?" She puts a glass of water in front of Adam. Dean leans forward to take it. Sam frowns.

"Oh, I'll take that. I am very thirsty." He takes a sip. The waitress eyes Dean, displeased. Jamie sees the look.

"Don't mind him. It's been a long day." She smiles at the waitress.

"The usual, Adam?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Denise."

She leaves. Adam takes the glass of holy water. Jamie reaches under the table and Dean gives her Ruby's knife. The siblings watch carefully as he drinks; nothing happens. Adam is not, then, possessed, or not by a demon less powerful than Azazel. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

Sam sighs. "So, uh, when's the last time you saw John?"

"I don't even know. It's...a couple years."

Under the table, Dean pulls out a gun and aims at Adam.

Jamie looks at Adam. "A couple years? Why did you decide to call him now?"

"I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got." Sam frowns. "My mom's missing."

Sam looks interested. "Really? I'm sorry. Uh, for how long?"

Dean isn't, though. "It's tragic, really. But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?"

Adam stares at Dean. "'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years ago, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Jamie asks.

"My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Dean asks, rather tartly.

Adam shrugs. "My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."

Jamie accidently laughs out loud. "Sorry." She puts her hand on her mouth. Adam looks confused.

Sam gives his sister a look. "Yeah, well, who is these days?" He says turning back to Adam.

Dean is eyeing Adam up and down. "So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?"

"When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and—" Dean's hand tightens on the gun. Jamie looks at him. "—and after I begged her—God, twenty-four-seven—she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."

Jamie frowns. Denise puts a plate in front of Adam. "There you go."

"Thanks."

"Well, that's heartwarming." Dean comments, still holding his gun tightly.

Adam indicates his food. "You mind?"

"Please, dig in." Dean says with a smile. Adam takes the napkin out from under the silverware without touching the silverware and spreads the napkin on his lap. Dean cocks the gun.

"He would swing by once a year or so." Adam continues picking up the knife and fork; nothing happens. So Adam is not a shapeshifter, nor anything else that reacts on contact with silver. Dean glances away.

"Put it away." Jamie hisses to Dean.

Adam looks at them. "Huh?"

Dean uncocks the gun and puts it away.

"Nothing." Jamie says quickly. "Continue."

Adam shrugs. "You know, called when he could. But still..." He takes a bite. "He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen. And, uh...he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala—"

Jamie is starting to look upset. Sam reaches over and grips her hand. Dean looks angry. "Oh, this is crap. You know what, you're lying."

Adam stares at him. "No, I'm not."

"Uh, yeah, you are." Dean shoots back.

"No, he isn't Dean." Jamie wipes her eyes roughly. "He's telling the truth. I would know, wouldn't I?"

Adam looks from Jamie to Dean. "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?"

Dean stares at him. "We're John Winchester's kids, that's who." He indicates himself and Sam. "_We_ are his sons. And she." Dean puts his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "She is his daughter."

Adam stares at Dean, then at Sam, then Jamie, then at Dean. "I've got siblings? Brothers? And a sister…"

"No, you don't have brothers and a sister. Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here."

"I have never been hunting in my life." Adam says quickly.

Dean starts to get up. "Whatever. I'm out of here. Jamie. Come on, Sam." He pulls Jamie up, and goes to leave.

"Wait. I can prove it." Adam says.

At Adam's house Dean holds a framed picture of Adam and John; John is wearing a baseball cap. Sam, Jamie, and Dean examine the picture.

"He took you to a baseball game?" Dean asks.

Adam nods. "Yeah, when I turned fourteen. Dad was around for a few of my birthdays."

Sam holds John's journal, open to a page he reads from. "September twenty-ninth, two thousand four. One word. 'Minnesota.'

Jamie is staring at Adam. "He took you to a freakin' baseball game?"

"Yeah. Why? What'd Dad do with you on your birthday?" Adam takes the picture back. Jamie looks like she's gonna cry. Dean grabs her and turns her to him.

"Hey." Dean frowns, rubbing Jamie's arm.

Adam watches Jamie. "What's wrong?"

Dean looks up. "She's fine. It's a long story."

Adam looks away.

Sam looks at him. "Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing."

"Yeah."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Three days."

"Who was the last person to see her?"

"Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor. He saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up to work on Wednesday."

Dean sees another picture, this one of John hugging Kate, Adam's mother. She resembles Mary. Jamie sees it too. She walks away from them.

"Did you call the police?" Sam asks.

Adam nods. "Mom's supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could." He pauses. "I should have been here."

Dean looks at him. "What'd the, uh, what'd the cops say?"

"That they, uh, they searched the house."

"They didn't find anything." Jamie finally turns back to them.

"That's right. She wouldn't leave without telling anybody. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"

Jamie leans against the doorway. Dean shifts Kate's dresser. Seeing nothing behind it, he shifts it back. There are more pictures on the dresser: one of Kate, John, and a younger Adam, and one of Kate and a very small Adam. Dean focuses on the one with John. "The, uh, nightstand was knocked over. Was there anything else?"

"Oh, not really. The sheriff said there's no sign of a break-in." Dean and Jamie look around. "What, you think the cops missed something?"

"Maybe. Yeah. They don't have my eyes." Dean tells him.

"Or my…intuition." Jamie adds.

"You're a mechanic, Dean?"

"Yeah. That's right."

"Jamie, what do you do?"

"Forensics."

"Really? You like science too?" Jamie doesn't answer. Adam hesitates. "Dean, what else can you tell me about Dad?"

"You knew him."

"Not as well as you."

Jamie sighs glancing over at him. "Trust me, kid, you don't want to know."

Sam appears at the door, holding up a handful of papers.

"Give us a minute." Dean tells Adam.

Jamie nods. "We'll be right back." They leave.

The siblings stop walking when they're out of Adam's hearing range.

"You talk to the cops?" Dean asks.

Sam nods. "Yeah. Like Adam said, no leads on his mom."

Dean scoffs. "Shocker there."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"But I did find this." Sam goes through papers till he finds a copy of the Windom Gazette dated January 9, 1990. The headline is "Missing Bodies Found" and the subtitle "Seventeen bodies recovered from abandoned shed". "Um...here. In nineteen ninety, there were seventeen grave robberies in Windom."

Jamie takes the paper and Dean leans in to look. "You think that's why dad came through here?"

"I'd say so. Check it out." Sam points at the photo accompanying the article.

Jamie gets her eldest brother's attention. "Dean…" He takes a closer look. John is in the background of the photo. Dean nods.

"All right, so he was hunting something. What?" He and Jamie look at Sam.

"No idea. Those were the pages he threw out of the journal. But last month, the corpse snatching started up again. Three bodies from the local cemetery."

Jamie groans. "Oh I have that pit in my stomach."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "So whatever he was after, he didn't kill it. It's back."

Sam looks at him. "And, what, it's stepped up its game to fresh meat? I mean, Kate's missing, and, uh—" He goes to the next paper. This one's a copy of a photo of a man in large black glasses, Joe Barton. "So is a local bartender—a guy named Joe Barton."

Dean takes the photo. Adam is sitting on Kate's bed. Dean comes to the door and holds up the photo. "  
Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?"

Adam looks at the picture. "Uh, I don't think so. Why?" Dean looks back at Sam and Jamie, then at Adam. A long pause. Dean notices something by Adam's feet: scratches on the floor. He comes over for a closer look. "What is it?"

"Watch out."

Dean flips up the edge of the comforter and looks under the bed, then gets up.

"Jesus." Jamie mutters as she walks over with Sam. She crosses her arms.

"Give me a hand with the mattress." Dean says to Adam. He tosses the pillows aside and with Adam's help moves the mattress off the bedframe. Under the bed is a vent large enough to fit someone through. Jamie uncrosses her arms. Sam looks at it. Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "She doesn't play." He points to Jamie. "We don't need angels swoopin in here."

Jamie scowls. "Fine."

Adam looks at them. "What did you say?"

Jamie looks at him. "We'll explain later."

Dean and Sam raise their fists for rock-paper-scissors. Sam picks rock, Dean scissors. Jamie scoffs, Sam smirks and Dean waves his arms, frustrated, then puts his hands on his hips. "Every time." A thump, the sound of the vent cover coming off, and light from a flashlight fills the duct. There are red stains along the duct. Dean shines the light around, then slides inside. There is a T-junction at the end of the duct he's in. "Why didn't I pick paper?"

He crawls to the T-junction. More red stains: blood. Dean crawls a bit further; to one side is another vent cover, undisturbed. He has a pistol in his other hand, which he points around the corner before he leans around himself. There is a large amount of blood and bits of flesh or bone in the duct.

Later at the motel Dean cleans a shotgun. Jamie is holding Ruby's knife between her fingers. A knock at the door. Dean turns. Sam opens the door. Adam enters.

"Who the hell are you?" Adam says as he enters.

"Adam, hey." Sam closes the door behind Adam. Jamie sticks the knife into her jeans. Dean flips a cloth over the shotgun.

"Adam." Jamie says softly, getting up.

"Take it easy." Sam tells him.

"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you three—well, you tell me to call the cops, But you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?" Silence. Dean looks over at Jamie. Jamie looks back at Sam. "Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier—something about grave robberies." He spots the end of the shotgun poking out from under the cloth. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on." Silence. Deans looks over at Sam. Sam looks at Jamie. Jamie looks at Adam. "Please."

"Tell him."

"Jamie."

"We're hunters."

"Sammy!"

Jamie looks at her big brother. "He deserves to know, Dean."

"What do you mean, 'hunters'?" Adam asks.

Dean shakes his head.

Sam is sitting across from Adam on the beds. Dean is sitting in a chair across the room. Jamie is standing next to him, leaning against the window.

"Okay, so...basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?"

Dean looks up. "_Godzilla'_s just a movie."

Jamie snickers. "Dracula is a dramatization. Kinda."

Sam nods. "We hunt them. So did Dad."

Adam nods. "Okay."

"Okay"? That's it?" Dean asks.

"What am I supposed to say?"

"That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says "okay."

Jamie points to Dean. "That's dramatization."

Adam looks at the Winchesters. "You're my siblings. You're telling me the truth, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"

Sam looks at him. "We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what."

Jamie puts her hands on Dean's shoulders. "It could be anything."

"Yeah, there's a long list of freaks that fit the bill." Dean agrees.

"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Dean looks down. Adam turns to Sam. Sam looks down. But Jamie looks straight at Adam. Adam nods, realizing, and looks down. "Oh. How can I help?"

"You can't." Dean says automatically.

"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in." Adam tells him pointedly.

Dean is firm. "No."

Jamie looks down at him. "Dean…"

Sam looks him as well, "Dean, look, maybe—"

"Maybe what?"

Sam sighs. "He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like."

Dean gets up and grabs John's journal. He walks over to Sam. "Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"

Jamie takes a few steps forward. "Boys."

Sam glances at her then back to their brother. "Because—"

"Because he was protecting him!" Dean yells, almost in Sam's face.

"Dad's dead, Dean."

"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes."

Jamie walks over to them. She stands between Dean and Sam. "Like we respect his wishes for my life, Dean? He abandoned me! I know what it feels like to have no one, you don't. You may think you do but you have always had Dad and Sam. He is our brother. Our blood. A Winchester. And Winchesters stick together, Dean."

Dean glares at her. "Jamie, you have no…"

"No what, Dean?"

Dean and Jamie stare a hard look.

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asks.

"No!" Dean shouts, still glaring at Jamie.

"No." Sam says, more softly.

Jamie looks at the kid. "No."

Dean heads for the door. "Babysit the kid, Sam."

"Where are you going?"

Dean grabs his jacket. "I'm going out!"

Jamie watches him. "Dean, don't you walk away from me!"

Dean leaves. Jamie follows after him. Sam sighs.

"Are they always like that?" Adam asks.

Sam laughs. "Welcome to the family."

Adam looks down. "So, is it true, what Jamie said?"

Sam looks up, quiet for a moment. "That Dad abandoned her?"

"Yeah."

Sam nods. "Yeah. We're twins, Jamie and I. He left her at a convent when we were 8. He didn't want her to have our life either."

"Why not?"

"We've never really talked about it." He pauses, thinking. "There was a bad hunt I guess, Jamie almost got hurt. She looks so much like our Mom…Dad just couldn't chance it. He let her go."

Adam stares at him before looking away. "She hates me doesn't she?"

Sam shakes his head. "No. She doesn't. It's just hard for her, even though she understands why Dad did what he did. Here." He pulls out his gun and ejects the clip. "I'm gonna teach you a few things."

"Uh, Dean said—"

"I know what Dean said." Sam holds the unloaded gun out to Adam. "And I know what it's like to want revenge."

The Cemetery Director escorts Dean, who is in FBI suit and tie, and Jamie who is a skirt and jacket to the robbed tomb. "This tomb was built in 1926. Four generations of the Millsap family were interred here."

Dean eyes it. "They don't build 'em like this anymore." Jamie smirks.

"Tell me, Agent Nugent, Agent Fay, have you thought about where you might like to spend eternity?"

"Sure." Jamie says automatically, taking a look around.

Dean hesitates. "All the damn time." He looks around the tomb. "So, three bodies went missing. Any idea who did it?"

"Hooligans. Sick, deranged hooligans."

Jamie raises her eyebrows, turning to Dean. "Of course."

Dean notices something spilled on the side of the tomb. "Jace." He touches it, smells it, and recoils. Jamie curls her nose. "This isn't blood. What is this?"

Jamie looks at him. "I know that smell. It's embalming fluid."

The Director nods. "Whoever committed this crime didn't just take the corpses. They opened them up."

Dean and Jamie look at each other.

Dean takes a seat at the empty bar and unfolds the papers he's carrying. Jamie sits down next to him. The Bartender spots them and fills two glasses at the tap. "First beer's on the house for cops. Feds too."

Dean looks at her. "Are we that obvious?"

"I know all the local badges." She sets the glasses in front of Dean and Jamie. "And you two've got that..._Law & Order_ vibe." She picks up a cloth and starts drying another glass. "So, what's the FBI doing in Windom?"

"Looking into the disappearance of Joe Barton." Dean tells slides the photo of Joe across the bar. The Bartender looks at it, stricken. "I assume you knew him?"

"A little. I'm his wife. Lisa."

"We're sorry, Ma'am." Jamie says.

Dean nods. "Well, Lisa, what can you tell me about his disappearance?"

"Same thing I told the sheriff. He stayed late Friday before last to do inventory. Never came home."

Dean takes the glass of beer. "And the police?"

"Nothing. Truth is, I was scared they stopped looking. But now you're here."

"We'll try to do what we can, of course." Jamie sips her beer. Dean looks at the photos behind the bar. One is of Joe in a police uniform. Dean nudges Jamie and she sees it too.

"Joe was a cop?" He asks.

"Deputy. For a little while. That was a looong time ago."

Dean glances at Jamie. "He didn't happen to work the, uh, the grave robbery case, back in 'ninety?"

Lisa nods. "He did. Yeah. Joe was the one who found those bodies. He got an award for that."

"That was an interesting case." Jamie says.

"He ever tell you how he did it?" Dean scans the newspaper photo for John.

"Most of the time, he said good, solid police work. But after a few beers, he'd admit he had a little help."

"From who?" Jamie asks.

"A 'specialist'. That's all he'd say."

"Cops ever find the guy that stole the bodies?" Dean takes a drink.

"No. But when I asked Joe about it, he'd say not to worry—that "we took care of what done it."

Dean and Jamie look at each other.

Adam heads for the passenger side of his truck, Sam for the driver's side. While Sam fumbles with the keys, something grabs his ankle, yanking him to the ground and under the truck. Sam grabs the truck to resist.

"Sam!" The Impala pulls up. "Dean, Jamie, help!"

Dean and Jamie jump out of the impala. Adam grabs one of Sam's arms and Dean the other. Jamie grabs unto Adam's torso and they pull him free. Jamie gets down beside Sam. Dean grabs the dropped shotgun, and fires. Dean looks at Jamie, Jamie looks at Sam, Sam looks at Adam, Adam flops onto the ground.

Adam's truck backs out of the space. He'd parked right over a sewer grate, which is half open. Dean gets out of the truck and he and Jamie approach the grate, aiming shotguns. There's blood on the edge. Dean gets up and heads past Sam, who is leaning on the hood of the Impala. Jamie walks over.

"Well I'm gonna bet you get didn't kill it, but…"

Dean nods. "I winged it. Did you see anything?" He looks at Sam.

"I didn't get a good look."

Dean sighs in frustration. "What the hell is this thing?"

Jamie shrugs. "Why—who—should we go after it?"

Dean looks at her. "No, no. In that maze? That thing's long gone."

Sam nods. "All right, so, we don't know what it is, But we do know who it's going after. Joe Barton, Adam's mom—"

Dean nods. "And Adam. It was under his truck, just waiting for him."

Jamie hugs her twin. "God, Sam…"

Sam hugs her back. "It set a trap, and I walked right into it."

Jamie looks at him. "But if you hadn't been here, Adam would be dead."

Dean shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. You're right—there's a pattern. Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son."

"All the people Dad knew in town." Sam nods.

Jamie puts her hands on her hips. "At least we know why it's back."

"It wants revenge."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam look at Adam.

The door opens and the four siblings enter. Jamie is carrying the med kit.

"Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road." Dean tells Adam. Adam flips on the lights and heads upstairs. Sam sits at the kitchen table.

"We shouldn't leave." He thumps his injured ankle on another chair. Jamie bends down and starts wrapping up the ankle.

Dean looks at him. "Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked. Good one."

Jamie sighs. "Guys…"

"I'm serious."

"No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you, Jamie, and me are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started."

"Agreed. We've got to get Adam someplace safe." She finishes wrapping Sam's ankle and closes the med kit.

"But We got no leads, no witnesses. We do have what this thing wants."

"You want to use the kid as bait? That's why you want to stay here?"

"Sam…"

Sam looks at his siblings. "Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam—get him ready."

Dean looks doubtful. "He could die."

"We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?"

Jamie sighs. "He's got a good point." She looks at Dean.

Adam returns, backpack over one shoulder. "I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it."

Dean looks at Sam, who looks at Jamie, who looks at Adam.

Three gunshots. The first one makes a hole in a piece of metal, through which Sam and Adam are visible, Sam holding a gun. The other side of the metal is a sign, "NO TRESPASSING", "TRESPASSING ON THIS PROPERTY IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN", "VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW IN ACCORDANCE WITH MINNESOTA PENAL CODE .8", on which two red rings have been spraypainted. There are three small holes close together inside the smaller ring. Sam lowers the gun.

"Whoa." Adam is impressed.

"It's easy. Just feel the recoil and time the trigger pulls. Three taps." He holds the gun out to Adam.

"Yeah?"

"Go ahead."

Adam takes the gun and moves in front of Sam. He fires three times, kicking up leaves; all three shots hit the sign, fairly close together, one on and two inside the inner ring. Sam grins. A distance away, Dean, leaning against the Impala with Jamie, shakes his head and looks away. Jamie smirks.

"He's not half bad. A little too eager, but so were you." She looks at her brother.

Dean rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

Jamie crosses her arms. "Come on, Dean. This thing got his mother. We tore the world apart looking for Azazel."

Dean shifts and looks at her. "And look what happened."

"And whose to say that won't happen to Adam?" She shoots back.

Dean shakes his head. "You're as bad as Sam."

Jamie scoffs. "Dean, your big brother instincts gotta be kickin in right about now."

"My big brother instincts are telling me to throttle you."

"You wanna piss off Cas?" Pause. "Don't answer that."

"Beginner's luck, right?" Adam asks, looking at Sam.

"Nah, man. You're a natural. Good shooting." He claps Adam on the back.

"Thanks."

Books, one on "HELLHOUNDS", one on "THE ALL-WATCHING BAPHOMET", one on "AFFLICTIONS OF GHOSTS", one on something not visibly named; all are illustrated. The last appears to show something exploding out of someone's chest.

"So, then we lit it on fire." Sam is telling Adam.

"With a homemade flamethrower?" Adam asks.

"Yeah. They're easy to build. I'll show you."

"That is some job you got, man."

"Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam. It's life. You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend, friends?"

Adam nods.

"Not anymore you don't. If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections, ever. They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger, get them killed."

Dean, across the room , looks away. Jamie walks over to them and puts her arm around Adam's shoulders. "We all learned the hard way that it's the price we pay. You cut 'em out, and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family."

"Sammy. Jamie." Sam looks over. Jamie turns around. "Can I talk to you?" Dean gets up and goes over by the stairs. Sam and Jamie follow. "What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

'Hunting is life. You can't have connections.' Sam, Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. And Jamie…Jamie. You two hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him?"

The twins look at each other. "Yeah, well, turns out Dad was right." Sam says, turning back to Dean.

"Yeah."

"Since when?"

"Since always. Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see?"

"A normal kid."

"No. Meat. Because the demons and monsters out there, That's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. But now I think I understand. So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad did right by us. He taught us how to protect ourselves."

Jamie nods. "Adam deserves the same."

"Listen to yourselves."

"You think we're wrong?" Sam asks.

"I think it's too late for us. This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor."

Sam looks at Dean. "What makes Adam so special?"

Dean takes a step back. "What, are you jealous of the kid?"

"Are you?"

A pause.

Jamie looks at Dean. "I am. I'll admit it. But Dean, all this...it's not real. The dad Adam knew—he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows—they are real. The world is coming to an end. That's real. Everything else is just part of the crap People tell themselves to get through the day."

"Dad didn't have a choice with us, okay? But with Adam, he did."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "What about me? Dad had a choice with me."

Dean stares at her. "And he made that choice. And you made your choice."

"Yes, and I was younger then Adam when I did. The day I turned eighteen I packed my bags and hitched a ride to Ohio with Jefferson and AJ. I ganked my first vampire before I had my first beer."

Dean sighs. "Adam doesn't have to be cursed."

Sam smirks. "He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."

Dean shakes his head. "No. No, whatever's hunting Adam, I'm gonna find it."

"You already looked everywhere, Dean."

"Well, then I'll look again."

Dean leaves. Sam and Jamie stare at each other and then Jamie walks past him. "I hate following you all over creation! I hope you know that." Jamie follows after Dean.

Dean opens the tomb. Jamie turns on a flashlight and shines it around. Dean spots a loose stone, large enough to hide a tunnel, and works it out of the wall with a crowbar. There is indeed a tunnel behind it. Jamie shines the light along the tunnel. Dean shakes his head.

"I'll go first."

Dean blocks her with his arm. "No."

Jamie smirks. "Hey, if there is anything in there, then we get an angel to kill it for us." She crawls in. Deal crawls in after her. At the far end of the tunnel is another room. Jamie climbs through easily, but Dean struggles. Jamie puts her flashlight under her arm and helps him out of the tunnel.

"Home sweet home." Dean remarks.

"Of course." Jamie shines the light around. Dean steps in blood; there's quite a lot of it next to a severed arm and a pair of large black glasses. Jamie gags and puts her fist in her mouth. Dean picks the glasses and looks at them.

"Sloppy Joe."

"Oh my god." The siblings something in the tunnel. They fire several times. The tunnel collapses. "No!" Jamie yells.

"Oh, son of a bitch!" Dean takes out his cell phone and tries to make a call. No signal.

"Son of a bitch." Jamie mutters. Dean kicks at the door out of the tomb. It remains sealed. Jamie shakes her head. They explore, Dean pushes a skeleton out of the way with his foot. There is a sealed coffin with relatively fresh blood on the outside. "Dean." She points to the coffin. DEAN opens the coffin: it's Kate, Adam's mother. Most of her, anyway. Jamie gags again. "I'm calling Cas."

"Wait." Dean finds another coffin. Jamie walks over.

"Oh god, more blood." She remarks, holding the flashlight over it. Dean opens the other coffin. This one has the corpse of Adam. Jamie drops the flashlight and clamps her hands over her mouth to muffle her screams. Dean puts a hand to his own mouth; there's quite a lot of blood. He grabs Jamie and pulls her back so she doesn't have to look. "Dean! Dean! Dean!" She yells in horror.

Dean holds her tightly. "I know, I know. Shh. Keep it together, okay? You gotta keep it together." He shakes her.

Jamie looks at him. "Sam."

"We gotta get outta here. Come on." Dean and Jamie, now aware that their brother's alone with a monster, redoubles their efforts to escape. Dean looks around; there's a stained-glass window above him, depicting an angel. He nudges Jamie. She looks up and closes her eyes, grabbing her head. Dean looks at her. "Can you get through to Sam?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm blocked."

Dean breaks a long piece of metal off one of the coffins and tries to use it to pry the door open. It doesn't work. "Holy crap." He looks back at his sister.

Jamie points to the coffins. "Stack the coffins on top of each other."

Dean stacks one coffin on another, stands on them, and uses the metal bar to smash through the stained-glass window. He grabs Jamie's hand and pulls her up to the edge of the window. He pushes her through and then swings himself out.

"Sam, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out. So you might as well lie back and relax." Dean and Jamie hear the fake Adam saying as they get into the house.

"Hey!" Dean yells.

"Get away from my brother!" Jamie yells, as she and Dean aim shotguns. Jamie fires and Adam hits the wall, a hole through his shoulder.

"Guys, they're ghouls!" Sam yells.

Dean pauses, then fires at the ghoul who looks like Kate. Blood spatters the wall; her headless corpse collapses. "Which means head-shot." Adam slams Dean, breaking a lot of glass on the way down.

"Dean!" Jamie waves her hand, sending Adam off his feet. Dean grabs Adam and slams him down, then takes his metal bar and tries to slam Adam's head. He dodges. They fight;

"Jamie!" Sam says weakly. Jamie hurries over to Sam and cuts through the ropes and duct tape, grabbing a couple towels on the way. She helps Sam sit up and uses the towels as pressure bandages.

"Jesus Sam." Jamie looks at her twin, holding his bloody wrists close to her chest to try and stop the bleeding.

"Dean?" Sam asks, looking up at her.

"Dean's fine." But she glances over into the other room anyway. "He's fine." Adam goes down, and Dean beats his head in. Silence falls. "Dean!" Jamie finally says. "Sam's bleeding out."

Dean comes over to them. He helps Jamie wrap Sam up, muttering the whole time. "Come on. Come on. Come on. Hang on. All right, here we go. Here we go. Hang on, buddy. All right." He and Jamie wrap Sam's wrists holding them above his head. They manage to get the bleeding under control.

"Thank you." Sam mutters.

Dean looks at him. "That's what family's for, right?"

Jamie snickers. "Dean, keep pressure on that."

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are in the woods.

"You sure we should do this?" Sam asks.

Adam's body, wrapped in sheets, is lying on a pyre. Dean opens a bottle of lighter fluid. "Ghouls didn't fake those pictures. They didn't fake Dad's journal." He sprinkles lighter fluid over Adam. Jamie gets the matches.

Jamie nods. "Adam was our brother."

Dean nods in agreement. "Yeah. He died like a hunter. He deserves to go out like one."

Sam looks at the body. "Maybe we can bring him back. Get a hold of Cas, call in a favor."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. It wouldn't be right."

"Adam's in a better place." Dean tells him. Jamie lights the match and tosses it on the pyre. Adam's body goes up in flames. A tear falls down Jamie's cheek. Sam frowns. Dean puts his hand on Jamie's back and she turns around and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her back, holding her, and looks at Sam. "You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person." Sam looks over. "I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now."

Sam tilts his head. "I'll take that as a compliment." He rubs Jamie's back.

"You take it any way you want."

Jamie looks up from Dean's chest. "Don't start boys."


	19. 421 When the Levee Breaks

Sam can be heard screaming the background. Dean groans. "How long is this gonna go on?" He looks at Bobby.

Bobby looks at him. "Here, let me look it up in my demon-detox manual. Oh wait. No one ever wrote one. No telling how long it'll take. Hell, or if Sam will even live through it."

Jamie walks in and throws her keys down on the table. She gestures to a stack of papers she's carrying and looks at Bobby and Dean.

Jamie pours herself a drink and sits on the table. Bobby and Dean are looking through the papers Jamie brought.

"The news ain't good." Bobby gives Dean a pointed look.

Dean is reading. " 'Key West sees ten species go extinct'.

Jamie looks up. "Yep. Plus Alaska. Fifteen-man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown. New York, teacher goes postal, locks the door, kills exactly sixty-six kids. All this in a single day. I looked them up. There's no doubt about it. They're all seals. Breaking. Fast."

"How many are left?" Dean asks.

Bobby looks up. "Who knows? Can't be many. Jamie you're a damn prophet, you tell us."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Not many."

"And where the hell are your angel pals?"

Jamie shakes her head. "You tell me." She finishes her drink and pours herself another.

"I'm just wondering."

Dean looks at him. "What?"

"The apocalypse being nigh and all...is now really the best time to be having this little domestic drama of ours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't like this any more than you do, but Sam can kill demons. He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon."

Dean gets a look on his face. "So what? Sacrifice Sam's life, his soul, for the greater good? Is that what you're saying? Times are bad, so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead?"

Jamie finishes her second drink. "It's a stupid idea, Bobby. "

"Look, I know you hate me for suggesting it. I hate me for suggesting it. I love that boy like a son. All I'm saying is maybe he's here right now instead of on the battlefield because we love him too much."

Dean and Jamie are in Bobby's salvage yard. Dean is looking up at the sky. "Castiel! Damnit, please."

Jamie hugs him. He looks at her. "Castiel!" Jamie yells. "Castiel, in nomine Dei egressus!"

Castiel appears. "Well, it's about time. I've been screaming myself hoarse out here for about two and a half hours now and all Jamie has to do is chant some damn Latin?"

"What do you want?"

"You can start with what the hell happened in Illinois."

Castiel tilts his head. "What do you mean?"

"Cut the crap. You were gonna tell me something."

"Well, nothing of import."

Dean can't believe this. "You got ass-reamed in heaven but it was not of importance?"

Castiel sighs. "Dean, I can't. I'm sorry."

Dean points at Jamie. "Then tell the damn prophetess over there, and she'll tell me."

"I'm sorry Dean, but I cannot reveal it to Jamie either. Get to the reason you really called me. It's about Sam, right?"

Jamie looks at Castiel. "Can he do it? Kill Lilith, stop the apocalypse?"

"Possibly, yes. But as you know, he'd have to take certain steps."

Dean sighs. "Crank up the hell-blood regimen."

"By a lot." Jamie adds.

"Consuming the amount of blood it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever. Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. There's no reason this would have to come to pass, Dean. We believe it's you, Dean, not your brother and not your sister. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role. You are the one who will stop it."

Dean sighs, looking down. He take a moment and then looks up. "If I do this, Sammy doesn't have to?"

"If it gives you comfort to see it that way."

"God, you're a dick these days."

Jamie scoffs. "You don't know the half of it." She stares at Castiel.

Dean walks a few steps away and sighs. "Fine, I'm in."

"You give yourself over wholly to the service of God and his angels?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Say it."

Dean looks at the angel. "I give myself over wholly to serve God and you guys."

Jamie turns to her brother. "You swear to follow his will and his word as swiftly and obediently as you did our own father's?"

"Yes, I swear. Now what?"

Jamie looks at Castiel. Castiel looks at Dean. "Now you wait, and we call on you when it's time."

"Bobby! Dean! Jamie! Help! Hey! Hey! Guys! Guys! Help! Dean!" Sam's screams are still sounding in the living room. Bobby, Dean, and Jamie are sitting at Bobby's desk. Jamie sighs deeply. Bobby turns to Dean. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch? He willingly did this?"  
Jamie nods. Dean looks at him. "I'm sorry. You prefer 'sucker'? After everything you said about them, now you trust them?"

Dean gets up. "Come on, give me a little credit, Bobby. I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

"Then why in the hell—"

"Because he has no choice, Bobby." Jamie tells him.

Dean nods. "Because what other option do I have? It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"

"I see your point." Bobby sighs.

It's oddly silent, and Jamie immediately picks up on it. "Dean."

Dean looks at her and then at Bobby. "You hear that?"

"Yeah, that's a little too much nothing."

Dean, Jamie, and Bobby hurry to the basement and open the window in the door. Sam is on the floor of the panic room, having a seizure. Jamie's eye widen in horror. Dean turns to Bobby. "What if he's faking?"

"You really think he would?" Bobby asks, looking at Dean.

"I think he'd do anything."

"Oh he's not faking…" Jamie mutters. Sam is slammed against the wall by an invisible force.

"Yeah, that ain't faking." Bobby agrees. They throw open the door and charge in to get Sam down and pin him to the cot. Jamie takes off her belt and sticks it in Sam's mouth.

"Oh Sammy…" Jamie mutters. Dean stares at Sam in shock.

"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety. Dean? You with me? Dean! Before he has another fit."

Dean snaps back to reality. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get it over with."

Awhile later Sam, calm now, discovers he's been chained to the cot. He sits up. Dean is standing next to his bed. "We had to. The demon blood was flinging you all over the room. Tell me something, Sam. Why did you do this to yourself?"

Sam looks away. "You know why."

"Right. 'Kill Lilith'. The big excuse. But why? What, revenge? Right?"

"Of course."

"Revenge for what? For sending me to hell? Did you happen to notice I'm back? Alive and kicking. So what's the point?"

Sam looks at his brother. "Point? How about 'stop the damn apocalypse'?"

Sam is addressing an empty room, Dean is a hallucination. "My gig. Not yours. The angels said so, remember? God picked me, man. So you got any other fantastic excuses? Hmm?"

Jamie opens the door and walks inside. "Sam!" Sam doesn't see her. Jamie grabs unto Sam's shirt. "Come on Sammy. Come on." Jamie puts her hands on the side of Sam's head.

"I know why you really drink that blood, Sam." Dean tells him.

"Just leave me alone."

"Makes you feel strong. Invincible. A big bad wolf in a world of little pigs."

"No. You're wrong, Dean."

Jamie can now hear Dean. She glances in the direction where Sam sees him. "Sam, don't listen to him. Listen to me."

"It's more than that, isn't it? It's because your whole life, you felt different. Am I right?"

"Stop.'

"Oh, I hit a little close to home, huh? Not different because you were some lonely kid or because of your weirdo family."

"Stop it."

Jamie squeezes her eyes tighter. "Sam, it isn't really Dean."

"Because you're a monster."

"Shut up! Just—shut. The hell. Up." Sam yells.

Dean looks at him and smirks. "You know, normally they talk about how twins are just alike. But I think in this case, you're exact opposites. Jamie was always the innocent one, and that's why Dad sent her away. To protect her innocence, to keep you from corrupting her. You were always a monster. And you only feel right when you're sucking down more poison and more evil."

Sam rattles his chain. He shakes in Jamie's grip.

"Damnit!" Jamie yells opening her eyes. She holds Sam still. "Damnit Sammy."

"Monster, Sam. You're a monster."

"Dean, no."

Jamie closes her eyes again, putting her hands back on either side of Sam's head. "Let me in, Sam."

"And I tried so hard to pretend that we were brothers. That you weren't one of the filthy things that we hunt. But we're not even the same species. But I have to face facts. I've got a sibling to protect, and she isn't you. You're nothing to me."

Sam starts to sob. "Don't say that to me. Don't you say that to me."

Jamie growls. "Enough! Come back to me, Sam."

Sam looks around. He sees Jamie sitting beside him. Dean is gone. Sam tries to shove Jamie away. "He loves you more than me!"

"What? Sam snap out of it!" Jamie slaps him across the face. Sam realizes it hurts and looks up at her.

"Jamie?"

"Hi." She grips his hand.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Trying to help you."

Sam looks away. "Why? You hate me. You want me dead. You think it'd be better if I was."

Jamie stares at him. "Yeah. I thought that. But Sam…you're my brother."

"I betrayed you."

"Yeah you did. But it doesn't matter."

Tears stream down Sam's face. "I'm evil and worthless and a monster!"

Jamie wipes his cheek. "Sam, it's all in your head. All of it. It's your own guilt and the demon blood that is doing this to you. You've got to take back control, before it's too late."

"I don't know if I can." Jamie looks up. "What is it?"

Jamie looks back at him. "I'm being summoned."

"By the angels?"

"By Cas."

"What does he want?"

"I don't know. I'll be back as soon as I can." She wraps her arms around Sam. Sam closes his eyes and puts his chin on her shoulder.

"Jamie…" He starts to say.

"I know. I'm sorry, Sammy. I'm so sorry. And I forgive you." Jamie leaves.

The lighting changes: nightfall. The cuff on Sam's left arm snaps open, then his left ankle, then the other two. The door opens. Sam sits up, staring; he didn't do this. "Hello?" He gets up and slips out the door. "Someone here? Jamie?" He hurries quietly out of the basement without noticing Castiel behind the stairs. From a distance, the angel closes and locks the panic room door.

Castiel turns back to the river. Jamie walks up. She pulls her jacket tighter around herself as she walks up to him. "Castiel? What is going on?"

Castiel turns to her. "I'm sorry prophetess. I'm sorry you were put in the middle of this."

Jamie looks at him confused. "The middle of what?"

"You'll find out soon." Castiel puts two fingers on Jamie's forehead. She blinks and is standing in Bobby's kitchen.

"Dean?" Jamie rushes down the stairs. She sees the panic room empty save for Bobby and Dean.

Dean turns around. "Where the hell have you been?"

"With Cas, what the hell happened? How did Sam get free?"

Bobby sighs. "We're thinking Ruby."

"Ruby? No. She couldn't." Jamie closes her eyes.

Dean gets a determined look on his face. "Well, I'll tell you one thing. At this point I hope he's with Ruby."

"Why?" Bobby asks.

"'Cause killing her's the next item on my to-do list." Jamie opens her eyes. "Anything?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Whatever let him out is blocking my sight and there is enough demon blood left inside him to shield him from me. I don't know what happened. But you're right, I think he's going to Ruby."

Bobby looks at Dean. "I thought you were on call for angel duty, Dean."

"I am on call. In my car, on my way to murder the bitch." Dean goes to leave the room.

Jamie follows after him. "Wait for me."

"One thing." Bobby calls after them.

Dean stops and waits for Bobby to continue. "What?"

"Sam don't wanna be found, which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, we'll see."

Jamie nods. "I got it covered."

Dean and Jamie are packing the Impala. Bobby comes out of the house. "Police found my car. Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."

"He's switching up." Dean says.

Jamie nods turning to Bobby. "Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?"

"Two. 1999 Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous, like Sam likes."

"What was the other one?"

"White oh-five Escalade with custom rims. It's a neon sign."

Dean nods. "You're right. He'd never take that."

Jamie looks at Dean. "Which is exactly what he did."

Bobby looks at the siblings. "You think?"

Dean nods again. "I know that kid. All right, Jamie and I'll head in that direction. You stay here, ride the police databases. We gotta find him quick."

Jamie goes over to the shot-gun side of the Impala. "Let's go."

Dean is driving, Jamie has his phone on speaker. "Cops found the Escalade in a ditch outside Elk River."

"How far away are we?"

"A couple of hours. I pulled up a weather map, made some calls. There's a town not far from there, Cold Spring. Lighting up with demon sign."

Jamie and Dean look at each other. "A good place to look."

"Hey, listen."

"What?" Dean asks, looking at the road.

"Us finding Sam? It's gotta be about getting him back, not pushing him away."

"Right." Jamie agrees.

"Right." Dean echos half-heartedly.

"I know you're mad. I understand. You got a right to be, but I'm just saying. Be good to him anyway. You gotta get through to him."

Dean grabs the phone and hangs up. Jamie looks at the phone and then at Dean. "Dean…he's still our brother."

Dean sighs.

Sam leaves the motel room. Dean and Jamie, hidden, watch him go, then enter the room. Ruby is still there; Dean attacks her. Jamie backs up. Sam reenters and defends her. "No. Let her go. Just take it easy."

Dean looks at Sam. "Well, it must've been some party you two had going, considering how hard you tried to keep us from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here we are."

Jamie moves towards Sam. "Yeah, here we are."

"Dean, Jamie, I'm glad you're here. Look. Let's just talk about this."

Jamie stares at her twin. "We're past talking."

Dean gestures to Ruby. "Soon as she's dead, we can talk all you want."

Sam nods to Ruby. "Ruby, get out of here."

"No, she's not going anywhere." Dean argues. Ruby makes her escape. Dean points at his sister. "Jamie!"

Jamie raises her hand but Sam grabs her arm and holds it behind her. Sam watches Ruby go. Jamie struggles in Sam's grip. "Get off me."

"She's poison, Sam."

Sam lets Jamie go. "It's not what you think, Dean."

"Look what she did to you. I mean, she up and vanishes weeks at a time, leaves you cracking out for another hit—"

"She was looking for Lilith."

"That's crap." Jamie spits.

Dean nods. "That is French for manipulating your ass ten ways from Sunday."

Sam sighs looking at his siblings. "You're wrong, guys."

"Sam, you're lying to yourself. I just want you to be okay. You would do the same for me. You know you would."

Jamie rolls her shoulders, trying to control her anger. "Sam please."

"Just listen." Sam raises his hand, realizes he's still holding Ruby's knife that he took from Dean, and tosses the knife on the bed. Jamie watches the knife and then looks at Sam. "Just listen for a second. We got a lead on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us. We'll do this together."

Dean stares at him. "That sounds great. As long as it's you, Jamie, and me. Demon bitch is a dealbreaker. You kiss her goodbye, we can go right now."

Jamie nods. "Yeah. She sits this one out, before Dean ganks her." Dean cracks a sarcastic smile at his little sister before they both turn back to Sam.

"I can't." Dean turns away, nodding. Jamie sighs looking between her brothers. "I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it, but maybe one day you'll understand. I'm the only one who can do this."

Dean turns back around. "No, you're not the one who's gonna do this."

Jamie steps between them.

"Right, that's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you." Sam's tone is almost mocking.

Dean challenges him. "You don't think I can?"

"No. You can't. You're not strong enough."

Dean takes a step towards Sam. "And who the hell are you?"

"Dean." Jamie puts a hand on his chest.

"I'm being practical here. I'm doing what needs to be done."

Jamie looks back at her twin. "Sam." She puts a hand on his chest.

Dean stares hard at his brother. "Yeah? You're not gonna do a single damn thing."

"Stop bossing me around, Dean. Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots, and I trust you because you are my brother. Now I'm asking you, for once, trust me."

Jamie sighs, her eyes shifting between her older brother and her twin. "Let's all calm down, okay?"

Dean looks at her and then immediately back at Sam. "No. You don't know what you're doing, Sam."

"Yes, I do."

Dean seeths. "Then that's worse."

Sam stares at him. "Why? Look, I'm telling you—"

"Because it's not something that you're doing, it's what you are! It means—" Dean cuts himself off. Jamie looks over at Dean shocked.

"What? No. Say it." Sam has tears in his eyes. Jamie looks at Sam, unsure which brother to go to.

Dean looks straight at him. "It means you're a monster."

Sam nods. Jamie's mouth falls open. A tear falls from Dean's eye; SAM doesn't see it before he pushes Jamie backward and punches Dean. Jamie falls to the floor. Dean goes down hard, then gets back up and watches Sam for a moment before punching back. Jamie gets up and grabs unto Sam. Sam shoves her away. Sam and Dean fight, Sam dominating. Anything in the room that can break does. Jamie grabs unto Dean and Dean pushes her back. Sam throws Dean through the glass door. Dean hits the floor and doesn't get up. SAM pins him down, choking him, Jamie grabs his arm trying to get him off of Dean. Sam shoves her back and she cuts her hand on the glass as she goes down.

"Ow. Damnit!" Sam lets go of Dean and then looks over at her. "Sam…" Jamie drops down beside Dean.

Sam looks down at her and then at Dean. "You don't know me. You never did. And you never will." He walks away.

"Sam, don't go!" Jamie pleads.

"You walk out that door, don't you ever come back." Dean tells him. Sam stops at the door and turns back, then leaves. Jamie holds her bleeding hand against her chest.


	20. 422 Lucifer Rising

Dean finds himself in a large, lavishly appointed room. The walls are painted white with gold trim and accents, and a marble table stands in the center. Castiel is there with Jamie. "Hello, Dean. It's almost time."

Dean pokes around the room, looking at the magnificent pastoral paintings on the walls. He turns back to the table and finds that it now holds a silver bowl packed with ice and full of beer bottles, and a  
large platter of hamburgers. Jamie watches him. She looks sad.

Zachariah appears. "Hello, Dean. You're looking fit."

Dean looks at him. "Well, how 'bout this? ""The suite life of Zach and Cas." The angels give him blank looks. "It's a... never mind. So, what is this? Where the hell are we?"

"Call it a Green room. We're closing in on the grand finale, here. We want to keep you and Jamie safe before showtime." The angel explains and then indicates the food on the table. "Try a burger. They're your favorite. From that seaside shack in Delaware. You were 11, I think."

Dean looks down at the burgers. "I'm not hungry."

Zachariah tilts his head. "No? How about Ginger from season 2 of "Gilligan's Island"? You do have a thing for her, don't you?"

Dean looks at him. "Tempting. Weird."

"We'll throw in Mary Ann for free."

"No, no. Let's... bail on the holodeck, okay? I want to know what the game plan is."

"Let us worry about that. We want you... focused, relaxed."

Dean smirks. "Well, I'm about to be pissed and leaving, so start talking, Chuckles."

Zachariah sighs. "All the seals have fallen. Except one."

Dean smirks. "That's an impressive score. That's... that's right up there with the Washington Generals." He says sarcastically.

"You think sarcasm's appropriate, do you? Considering... you started all this? But the final seal... it'll be different."

"Why?"

"Lilith has to break it. She's the only one who can. Tomorrow night - midnight."

"Where?"

"We're working on it."

"Well, work harder."

"we'll do our job. You just make sure you do yours."

"Yeah, and what is that, exactly? If I'm supposed to be the one that stops her, how? With the knife?"

"All in good time."

"Isn't now a good time?"

"Have faith."

"What, in you? Give me one good reason why I should."

The angel starts getting in Dean's face. "Because you swore your obedience. So obey."

Dean looks past him at Castiel, who looks down guiltily. Jamie is standing beside him, a tear rolls down her cheek.

Dean and Jamie are alone in the room. Jamie is sitting on the table. Dean is pacing. He's holding his phone and considers it.

"Just do it." Jamie tells him.

"Ah, screw it." He opens the phone and dials.

"It's Sam. Leave me a message."

"Hey, it's me. Uh..." He clears throat. "Look, I'll just get right to it. I'm still pissed... and I owe you a serious beatdown. But... I shouldn't have said what i said. You know, I'm not Dad. We're brothers. You know, we're family. And, uh... no matter how bad it gets, that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm sorry. Jamie is sorry too." He hangs up.

Jamie is sitting cross legged on the table. She squeezes her eyes shut. Tears roll down her cheeks. Dean watches her. "Jamie…"

Jamie opens her eyes. "I can't see, Dean. I can't see anything. I can't even see Sam."

Dean goes over to her. "I'm sure it's just a glitch or something. Nothing serious."

Jamie takes a shaking breath. "What if it's gone? What am I gonna do without my sight?"

Dean pulls her into a hug and sighs. He's frustrated. He breaks away and she closes her eyes again. He pokes at one of the numerous figurines on one of the many mantlepieces and tips it deliberately to the ground. It shatters with a crash just as Castiel appears behind him. He turns around, looking slightly guilty.

"You asked to see me?"

Dean clears his throat. "Yeah, listen, I, uh, I-I need something."

"Anything you wish."

"I need you to take me to see Sam."

"Why?"

"There's something I got to talk to him about."

"What's that?"

"The B.M. I took this morning. What's it to you? Just make it snappy."

"I don't think that's wise."

"Well, I didn't ask you for your opinion."

Castiel stares at him. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time you met?"

"No. That's the whole point. Listen, I'm gonna do whatever you mooks want, okay? I just need to tie up this one thing. Five minutes - that's all I need."

"No."

Jamie opens her eyes and gets off the table.

Dean stares at Castiel. "What do you mean, no? Are you saying that I'm trapped here?"

"You can go wherever you want."

"Super. I want to go see Sam."

"Except there."

Jamie stares at the angel. "Castiel!"

Castiel looks at her. "I cannot."

Jamie and Dean look at each other. "I want to take a walk." Dean says.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

Dean looks at Jamie. "Alone."

"No."

"You know what? Screw this noise. I'm out of here."

He heads for the door. Jamie turns around.

"Through what door?" Dean turns to face him, frowning. Jamie waves her hand, but as she goes the door disappears. When he turns back, the door has been replaced by a smooth wall. He turns back to face Castiel, who has also disappeared.

"Damn it."

Jamie shakes her head.

Dean is attempting to break through a wall with a pedestal. Jamie is standing behind him, arms crossed, looking unimpressed. He has smashed through to the foundations, but when he pauses, the wall repairs itself. "Son of a bitch."

"Told you."

Dean whirls around and looks at her. "Help me!"

Jamie uncrosses her arms and stares at him. "I can't! If I can't see what makes you think I can do something like that?"

"Because you could do it before all this prophet crap started, which means things like that are not tied to these winged rats. Just try! You have to try, damnit. We need to get to Sam."

Jamie sighs. "Alright! Move out of the way." Dean moves behind her. Jamie frowns and then holds her hands out. She tries to pry the wall apart. It cracks through, but Jamie is obviously having a hard time. She can't hold it and collapses into Dean's arms. The wall repairs itself.

"Damn."

Zachariah suddenly appears. "Quit hurling feces like a howler monkey, would you? It's unbecoming."

Dean turns to him. "Let us out of here."

"Like I told you: too dangerous out there. Demons on the prowl."

Dean rolls his eyes. "I've been getting my ass kicked all year. Now you're sweating my safety? You're lying. I want to see my brother."

"That's... ill-advised."

Dean seeths. "You know, I am so sick of your crap riddles and your smug, fat face. What the hell is going on, huh? Why can't I see Sam? And how am I gonna ice Lilith?"

Jamie turns to Zachariah, staring at him intently. "Zachariah! The prophetess…"

The angel sighs. "You're not. ...Going to ice Lilith."

"What?"

"Lilith's going to break the final seal. Fait accompli at this point. Train's left the station."

"What?" Jamie asks in horror.

Dean looks at his sister and then back to Zachariah. "But me and Sam and Jamie, we can stop..." he cuts off and looks down at Jamie having an epiphany. Jamie gives him a deer in the headlights look. "You don't want to stop it, do you?"

Zachariah grins. "Nope. Never did. The end is nigh. The apocalypse is coming, kiddo, to a theater near you."

"You son of a bitch!" Jamie gets up, holding unto Dean.

"What was all that crap about saving seals?" Dean asked, pissed.

Zachariah shrugs. "Our grunts on the ground - we couldn't just tell them the whole truth. We'd have a full-scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it. Would we really let 65 seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?"

"But why?"

"Why not?"

"The apocalypse?"

"Poor name, bad marketing - puts people off. When all it is is Ali/Foreman. On a... slightly larger scale. And we like our chances. When our side wins - and we will - it's paradise on earth. Now, what's not to like about that?"

Jamie scoffs. "I could name a few things."

Dean holds him behind him. "What happens to all the people during your little pissing contest?"

The angel shrugs again. "Well... you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. In this case... truckloads of eggs, but you get the picture. Look... it happens. This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." He catches Dean eyeing a vase. "Uh, no, Dean. Probably shouldn't try to bash my skull in with that thing. Wouldn't end up too pleasant for you." Jamie holds her hand out and Zachariah grabs her arm. "Now prophetess, remember who you work for." Jamie yanks her arm back, staring darkly at him.

"Give me back my sight." She hisses.

Zachariah shakes his head. "Not until you learn some respect. " He tells her, mockingly.

"What about Sam? He won't go quietly. He'll stop Lilith."

Zachariah inhales deeply. "Sam... has a part to play. A very important part. He may need a little nudging in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

"What does that mean? What are you gonna do to him?" He looks at Jamie. "What are they going to do?"

Jamie stares darkly Zachariah.

"Sam, Sam, Sam. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Forget about him, would you? You have larger concerns. Why do you think I'm confiding in you? You're still vital, Dean. We weren't lying about your destiny. Just... omitted a few pertinent details. But nothing's changed. You are chosen. You will stop it. Just... not Lilith, or the apocalypse. That's all."

"Which means?"

He gestures to a painting on the wall: _Saint Michel terrassant le Dragon_. "Lucifer. You're going to stop Lucifer. You're our own little Russell Crowe, complete withsurly attitude. And when it's over... and when you've won... your rewards will be... unimaginable. Peace, happiness... two virgins and seventy sluts." He chuckles. "Trust me - one day, we'll look back on this and laugh."

Jamie moves her hair out of her face. "What about me?"

Zachariah turns to her. "You? You're the voice crying out the desert. You're the passive all knowing narrator of our little story. So that all will hear and know of our power. Emphasis on the passive though, can't have you interfering with what's to come."

"Tell me something. Where's God in all this?"

"God? God has left the building."

Zachariah disappears. Jamie puts her head in her hands. Dean is attempts to call Sam again. He dials the phone, but hears only static. Jamie then tries, but also gets static. Castiel appears behind them.

"You can't reach him. You're outside your coverage zone."

Jamie turns around. "Cas."

"What are you gonna do to Sam?" Dean asks.

Castiel looks at them. "Nothing. He's gonna do it to himself."

"What?" Jamie asks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Castiel looks down. "Oh, right, right. Got to toe the company line. Why are you here, Cas?"

"We've been through much together, you two and I. And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry it ended like this."

"Sorry"? Dean scoffs. "It's Armageddon, Cas. You need a bigger word than "sorry."

Jamie shakes her head. "Castiel, how could you? After everything?"

"Try to understand - this is long foretold. This is your..."

Dean cuts him off. "Destiny? Don't give me that "holy" crap. Destiny, God's plan... It's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It's just a way for your bosses to keep me, to keep Jamie, and keep you in line! You know what's real? People, families - that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?"

Jamie pleads with him. "It does not have to be this way, Cas! We can stop it, we can save everyone."

Castiel stares at them. "What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you, Dean. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. Jamie, I look inside you and I see loss, I see a broken heart and anguish and despair. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace, both of you. Even with Sam."

Dean shakes his head and then gets in Castiel's face. "You can take your peace... and shove it up your lily-white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise. This is simple, Cas! No more crap about being a good soldier. There is a right and there is a wrong here, and you know it." Castiel turns away. "Look at me! You know it! You were gonna help me once, weren't you? You were gonna warn me about all this, before they dragged you back to bible camp. Help me - now. Please."

Jamie grabs Castiel's arm and forces him to look at her. "Do you know why you see what you see inside me? Because AJ…" She closes her eyes tears running down her face. "The man I loved more than anything in this world, died doing what is right. And our parents, they died the same way. In this battle between good and evil, that is never ending. All my life, I have lived to serve, and I lost everything doing it. But I would do it over in a heartbeat. All three of us would. Because we're human, and humans accept pain as a part of life. The way life is supposed to be. "

Castiel sighs. "What would you have me do?"

Dean looks at Jamie. "Get us to Sam. We can stop this before it's too late."

"I do that, we will all be hunted. We'll all be killed."

Jamie shakes her head, wiping her eyes. "It doesn't matter."

Dean nods. "If there is anything worth dying for... this is it."

"Stand with us, Castiel." Jamie tells him.

He looks away. Dean gets extremely pissed. "You spineless... soulless son of a bitch. What do you care about dying? You're already dead. We're done."

Castiel turns back around "Dean…"

"We're done!" He yells.

Dean is pacing. Jamie is leaning against the wall with her eyes shut. He pauses in front of the platter of hamburgers and considers. He takes one. Suddenly Castiel appears behind him, grabs him by the shoulder, and shoves him against the wall, pressing a hand over his mouth and drawing the knife. Jamie opens her eyes and watches them. A moment passes while they stare at each other, then Dean nods slightly. Castiel lets him go. He draws the knife across his forearm and takes the blood with his other hand, smearing it on the wall to form the Angel banishing sigil. ZACHARIAH appears. "Castiel! Would you mind explaining just what the hell you're doing?"

Castiel finishes drawing and slams his hand in the center of the sigil. In a violent flash of white light, Zachariah vanishes. "He won't be gone long."

Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm. "We have to find Sam now."

"Where is he?"

Castiel looks at them. "I don't know. Jamie?"

She shakes her head. "I'm still blocked off."

"It's Michael. It's gotta be. He's the only one powerful enough to keep you from seeing."

Jamie sighs. "Great."

"We have to stop Sam, from killing Lilith."

Dean turns back to Castiel. "But Lilith's gonna break the final seal."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Oh my god. No she isn't."

Dean looks at her. "Your sight is back?"

"No. But I can still read minds. Cas, tell him."

Castiel sighs. "Lilith is the final seal. She dies, the end begins."

Dean and Jamie look at each other. "Cas, take us to Chuck."

Castiel, Jamie, and Dean appear suddenly in Chuck's kitchen. The prophet looks up in shock. "Wait. T-t-this isn't supposed to happen."

"Sir?"

"No, lady, this is definitely supposed to happen, but I just got to call you back." He says into the phone before he hangs up.

"St. Mary's? What is it, a convent?" Dean asks.

Jamie nods. "Yes."

"But you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story." Chuck is still trying to understand.

Jamie sighs. "We know."

"Yeah, well..." Castiel glances at Dean and Jamie. "We're making it up as we go." A great rumbling begins, accompanied by a blinding white light.

"Aw, man! not again!" Chuck groans.

Jamie's eyes widen in horror. "Raphael! He's coming."

Castiel grabs unto Dean and Jamie. "I'll hold him off! I'll hold them all off! Just stop Sam!"

"Jamie."Dean goes to grab Jamie's arm but she pulls it away.

"No. I have to stay here. You have to do this alone. It's you and only you who can stop Sam. And Dean…stab Ruby in the friggin heart for me." She steps away from her brother. Castiel claps Dean on the forearm, transporting him away. Castiel, Jamie, and Chuck stand side by side to face what comes. Jamie grabs Castiel's hand. Castiel looks at her and then they look out the window. Chuck places a hand on the angel's shoulder; Castiel gives him a look, and Chuck drops his hand in embarrassment. The rumbling grows louder. "Chuck, get out of the way." Jamie lets go of Castiel's hand and holds her arms out in front of her. Chuck moves out of the way. "Raphael, ego vox in deserto! Precipio tibi in nomine domini cohibebo!" The light engulfs Jamie and Castiel. "CASTIEL!"


	21. 501 Sympathy for the Devil

Sam and Dean walk through Chuck's devastated house. It's in complete ruin. Dean turns to look at Sam, and Sam catches the look of fear on his older brother's face. There's a noise, and they both turn: nothing. They keep looking around.

"Jamie! Chuck?" Sam calls.

"Jamie!" Dean yells.

Chuck jumps out and hits Sam on the head with a toilet plunger. Sam stumbles back, hand to his head. "Geez! Ow!"

"Sam." Chuck says in surprise.

"Yeah!" Sam shoots back, annoyed.

Dean looks over at the pair. "Hey, Chuck. Wheres-" Jamie walks up to them. She looks distraught. Dean and Sam both hold their arms out and she runs into them.

"Jamie." Sam breaths, holding unto his twin.

"Oh my god guys." She mutters into Dean's chest.

"Yeah, we're here." Dean tells her.

They hold unto her and turn to Chuck. "So...you're okay?" He asks, looking at Sam.

"Well, my head hurts."

"No, I mean—I mean, my—"

Jamie pulls back. "He means his last vision. You and all the demon blood."

"You went, like, full-on Vader. Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black."

Dean turns to his brother. "Your eyes went black?"

SAM looks back over his shoulder. "I didn't know."

Jamie stands next to Dean, leaning against her brother. "He didn't, really."

Dean glances at her and then looks around. "Where's Cas?" Jamie looks at the ground. "Jamie?"

Chuck looks at Dean. "He's dead. Or gone."

Jamie finally looks up. "Raphael killed him."

Chuck nods. "Smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry."

Dean's lower lip trembles just a little. "You're sure? I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something."

Chuck shakes his head. "Oh, no. He, like, exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup." He holds his hands out for added emphasis. Jamie looks sick. Dean holds her close to him. Sam takes a closer look at Chuck and waves a hand at his own left ear.

"You got a—" Chuck waves a hand at his own right ear.

"Uh...right here?"

Sam indicates the other side of Chuck's head. "Uh, the..." He feels at his hair.

"Oh. Oh, god." Chuck pulls something out. "Is that a molar? It is. Do I have a molar in my hair? This has been a really stressful day."

Jamie winces. Dean and Sam hug her again. Dean looks up. "Cas, you stupid bastard."

Sam looks over at his brother. "Stupid? He was trying to help us."

"Yeah, exactly."

"So, what now?"

"I don't know."

Jamie gasps. Dean and Sam both turn to their sister. "Oh God. Sam, Dean."

"Oh, crap." Chuck mutters.

Jamie pulls Sam and Dean closer to her. "What?" Sam asks looking from prophet to prophetess.

"We can feel them." Chuck says.

Jamie nods. "They're here."

"Thought we'd find you here." The Winchesters turn around: Zachariah is there, two angels accompanying him. "Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

Jamie pushes Dean and Sam back behind her. Her demeanor changes completely, to one of anger and protectiveness. "He's not going anywhere."

Dean points at the angels, Zachariah "You just keep your distance, asshat."

"You're upset." The angel says, not the least bit surprised.

Dean nods. "Yeah. A little. You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!" All three siblings visibly tense. Jamie holds her brothers back.

"Maybe we let it happen. We didn't start anything. Right, Sammy?" Zachariah winks.

"You son of a bitch!" Jamie yells.

Zachariah smirks. "You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again."

Dean looks at him. "Is that so?" He asks, clearly not the least bit convinced.

"You want to kill the devil. We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy." He makes a togetherness motion with his hands.

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Dean's voice drips with sarcasm. "Cram it with walnuts, ugly."

"This isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast—before he finds his vessel."

Sam looks up. "His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?"

Jamie glances back at her twin. "He is an angel. Or he was."

Zachariah nods. "And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

Dean considers it for half a second and then looks up, eyes blazing. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

This pisses the angel off. "You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?"

"Dean." Jamie looks back at Dean. Blood drips from Dean's hand. "You're bleeding."

"Oh, yeah—a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." Dean slaps his bloody hand on an Angel Banishing Sigil drawn behind a door.

"No!"

Jamie stares. Sam and Chuck flinch. Zachariah vanishes in white light. When Dean looks, the other Angels are gone as well. "Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch."

"This sucks ass." Chuck mutters, walking away.

Jamie stares at the spot where the angels were standing. "And getting suckier."

Later Dean and Jamie are hold up in a motel room. Dean loads a gun. Jamie is taping paperclips together. Sam enters the room.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Hey." Sam closes the door, pulls something out of his shirt, and tosses one to Dean and one to Jamie. Dean catches it and examines it. Jamie looks at hers. "Here. Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter. I think they're strong enough to protect you too, right Jamie?"

Jamie nods. "Yeah. Beats out my attempt at the paperclip sigil." She snickers and tosses the paperclips in the trash.

"Where'd you get it?" Dean asks.

"I made it."

"How?"

Sam hesitates long enough for Dean and Jamie to look up at him. "I...I learned it from Ruby."

Dean puts the gun down and approaches Sam. Jamie starts to get up. "Speaking of. How you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood or what?"

Jamie gets up and goes over to Sam. He looks at his twin and she looks away. "I-it's weird. Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever...put me on that plane cleaned me right up."

Jamie hugs him.

"Supernatural methadone." Dean comments, turning away.

"Thank God." Jamie mutters.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam pauses. "Dean—"

"Sam." Dean doesn't turn back to him. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"Well, that's good. Because what can I even say? "I'm sorry"? "I screwed up"? Doesn't really do it justice, you know? Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right—"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?!" Sam sighs. Dean turns back to him. "Look, all I'm saying is, why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it." Sam nods. "All right, so, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?"

Sam thinks. "We'd, uh, figure out where the thing is."

Dean nods. "All right. So we just got to find...the devil."

Jamie snickers. "So this is about the time you would call me off whatever lesser being I'm hunting and I'd haul ass out here and help you out."

Sam looks at her. "Can you…find the devil?"

Jamie shrugs. "Guess we'll find out."

Sam stares at John's journal. Jamie is meditating. Dean is watching TV.

"How would you then explain an earthquake, a hurricane, and multiple tornadoes, all at the same time, all around the globe?"

"Two words. Carbon emissions."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, right, wavy gravy." Jamie shakes. "Jamie?"

Sam gets up and moves over to her. Jamie shivers violently and then opens her eyes. "You alright?" He stares at her.

She shakes her head. "I'm trying to see. It's not working out so well."

There is a knock at the door. Dean pulls his gun. Sam goes over to the door and looks at Jamie. She nods. Sam answers. It's Becky, a huge fan of Chuck's books. She is so excited she's having trouble breathing.

"You okay, lady?" Sam asks.

"Sam...is it really you?" Sam glances back at Dean and Jamie. Becky steps closer and puts a hand on Sam's chest. "And you're so firm."

"Uh, do I know you?" Becky pulls back. Sam continues to stare, bewildered.

"No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're—" Becky looks at Dean, who's staring at her, his gun hand out of sight. "—not what I pictured. I'm Becky." Jamie gets up and walks over to Dean. She crosses her arms looking at the girl. "You must be Jamie. Hmm…you are a lot like Dean." She pushes past Sam into the room. "I read all about you guys. And I've even written a few—" She glances down, giggling a little. "Anyway, Mr. Edlund told me where you were."

Dean stands up. "Chuck?"

Sam closes the door. Dean looks at Jamie. She nods. "Yeah."

"He's got a message, but he's being watched. Angels. Nice change-up to the mythology, by the way. The demon stuff was getting kind of old." The siblings look at each other and then turn away.

"Right. Just, um...what's the message?" Sam asks.

"He had a vision."

"The Michael sword is on earth." Jamie mutters just as Becky opens her mouth to say more.

"The angels lost it." She looks at Jamie. "Hey, what gives?"

Jamie isn't look at her. "I can see." She looks at Sam and Dean. "I can't see outside this room right now, but I can see inside it."

"About time." Dean mutters.

Sam nods. "Yeah."

Becky looks confused. "See?"

Jamie finally looks at her. "Oh right, the books ended with Dean going to hell…nevermind."

Dean glances at his sister and then to Becky. "Anyway, what's the Michael sword?"

Jamie walks back over to Dean. "What it sounds like. The weapon of Michael, Prince of the Heavenly host and General of the armies of Heaven."

Sam's eyes widen, he looks at his sister and then to Becky. "Becky, does he know where it is?"

"In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Forty-two dogs?"

"Are...you sure you got that right?" Sam asks.

Jamie nods. "She got it right."

"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." Becky steps closer to Sam. "I memorized every word." She touches his chest. "For you."

Sam glances over at Dean and Jamie and down at Becky: awkward. "Um, Becky, c—uh, can you...quit touching me?"

"No."

Later Dean is watching tv. Jamie is looking through John's journal and Sam is on his laptop. There is a knock on the door. Dean opens it. Jamie looks up. Sam moves his chair back.

"Hey, Bobby."

Bobby hugs Dean, slapping him on the back. "Good to see you three all in one piece."

He hugs Sam, who's grinning. Dean closes the door. Bobby hugs Jamie and she takes the books from him.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Dean asks.

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?"

Sam laughs. "You heard."

"I heard, Romeo. So...sword of Michael, huh?"

Jamie nods. "That's what's being thrown around."

Dean looks at Bobby. "You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?"

"You better friggin' hope so." Jamie opens a book to a painting of Michael surrounded by other angels and hands it to Bobby. In this painting, Michael looks like a winged woman and the other angels like naked babies with wings. "That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got."

Jamie sighs. "Powerful enough to keep me from seeing."

Bobby looks at her. "You can't see?"

"My powers are out to lunch."

Sam flips to another painting. Again, Michael has a feminine face. Dean looks at the painting. "You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett."

Bobby scoffs. "Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me."

Jamie turns to Dean. "He commands the heavenly host. When the civil war raged in Heaven, Michael was the one who cast Lucifer into hell."

"And he did it with that sword." Bobby points to the sword in the painted Michael's hand. "So if we can find it..."

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again. All right. So, where do we start?" Sam asks.

"Divvy up and start reading—try and make sense of Chuck and Jamie's nonsense."

"Hey!"

"No offense."

Jamie grabs the book with a Latin title. Sam gets up and heads for the pile of old books. He stares at the books for a long moment, not reaching for them. Jamie looks up from her book. "Sam?"

"Kid? You all right?" Bobby asks.

He turns to him. "No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

Dean sighs. "Sam..."

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal."

"Sam, stop it." Dean says with more force.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free."

"You what?"

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on."

Dean says nothing. Jamie turns away and looks down at her book. Bobby stands up and walks closer. "You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy. If, by some miracle, we pull this off...I want you to lose my number. You understand me?"

"Bobby…" Jamie whispers. Dean puts his hand on her back and squeezes her shoulder. Sam nods. His expression barely changes: this can't be much different from what he expected. Dean doesn't protest. Jamie tries to defuse the situation a little. "Um, Sam. There's an old church nearby. Maybe you should go see what they have. Might be some help."

Sam nods looking at her twin. "Alright. Yeah."

"Yeah. You do that."

Sam leaves. Bobby turns back to Dean who stays silent. They sit down to do research. After awhile Bobby looks up. "I never would have guessed that your daddy was right."

Jamie stops reading and looks up.

"About what?" Dean asks.

"About your brother." Dean looks up. "What John said—you save Sam or kill him. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him."

"Bobby." Dean and Jamie speak at the same time.

"He ended the world. And you two and I weren't strong enough to stop him proper. That's on us. I'm just saying, your dad was right."

Jamie is looking at Bobby strangely. Dean gets an idea. "Dad. Jamie, where's my bag?" Jamie gets up and grabs Dean's bag. He rummages through it and pulls out a plastic Ziplock full of cards. Jamie goes over to him. "It's got to be in here somewhere."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bobby asks.

"Here." Dean pulls one out and reads it. Jamie reads over his shoulder. Bobby stands up. Dean comes over. "I don't believe it."

"Neither do I."

"What the hell is it?"

"It's a card for dad's lockup in upstate New York. Read it."

Bobby takes the card. "Castle Storage. 42 Rover Hill."

"Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs." Dean takes the card back.

"So you think your dad had the Michael sword all this time?"

Dean looks at Jamie. "I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could have meant."

Jamie shrugs. "It works for me."

"Yeah. Okay. It's good enough for me."

Jamie turns to Bobby. "Dean!"

Bobby turns his head and Jamie slams into the wall. Bobby then attacks Dean, knocking him through the barrier between the kitchenette and the beds. He yanks Dean up and slams him down again. His eyes go black. He grabs Dean by the throat and drags him to his feet. Jamie is unconscious on the floor. A female demon enters, a male demon behind her.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean. But I never dreamed you were so V.I.P." She sees Ruby's knife on the table and picks it up. "I mean, you're gonna ice the devil? You? If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago."

"Ruby." Dean mutters.

"Try again. Go back further."

"Meg?"

"Hi. These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean. Our father's among us. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really owe your brother a fruit basket."

"My god, you like the sound of your own voice."

"But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you."

Dean smirks. "Get in line."

"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, baby. Let's ride." She kisses him.

"What is that, peanut butter?"

"You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake screaming in there. And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you." Meghands the knife to Bobby, who raises it to Dean's throat. He struggles.

"Bobby!"

Bobby looks back at Meg. "Now!"

He raises the knife to stab Dean.

"Bobby! No!"

Jamie wakes up. She groans, her vision blurry and sees Bobby about to stab Dean. The black fades from Bobby's eyes. Jamie raises her hand up. The knife comes down and Bobby flashes gold as the demon dies: Bobby stabbed himself. He collapses. Jamie tries to get up but Meg walks over and puts her foot down on Jamie's throat.

"You're really just a meddling little brat, you know."

Dean rushes Meg and the male demon. The Male demon slams Dean into the wall, then the floor. Sam enters and sees Bobby on the floor bleeding, Meg with her foot on Jamie's throat, and Dean getting beaten. "No!"

"Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you."

"Meg?"

Meg grins and kicks Jamie in the head. Sam swings and misses. Meg kicks him in the crotch and knocks him to the ground while the other demon pounds Dean. "It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" The demon kicks Dean again. Meg punches Sam. Jamie gets up and throws Meg off her feet. "You said your powers were down."

"Not all of them."

Dean kicks the feet out from under the demon. Jamie waves her hand and the knife flies out of Bobby and into Dean's hand. He stabs the demon in the chest. Dean stands up. Meg backs away. Jamie holds her hands up, trapping Meg against the wall. Dean advances. Meg screams and smokes out of her meatsuit, who collapses. Dean lowers the knife and rushes over to Sam and Jamie.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam burst into a hospital emergency room. Sam is carrying Bobby, Dean is helping Jamie.

"Need some help here!" Dean yells.

A nurse rushes over. "What happened?"

"He was stabbed." Sam explains.

"Can we get a gurney?"

Two nurses rush a gurney over to Bobby.

"Hang on, Bobby. Hang in there. You're gonna be okay." Dean tells him.

They get Bobby onto the gurney and rush him off. Sam, Jamie, and Dean follow. The nurse stops them.

"Just wait here."

"No, please." Jamie begs.

Sam nods. "We can't just leave him."

"Just don't move. I've got questions." The nurse leaves.

Dean turns to his brother and sister. "Sammy, we got to go."

"No. No way, Dean."

"We have to Sammy." Jamie says.

"The demons heard where the sword is. We got to get to it before they do, if we're not too late already. Come on!" Dean leaves with Jamie. Sam follows.

Dean opens the trunk. He, Jamie, and Sam load guns and close the trunk. Dean unlocks the storage room, Sam and Jamie standing watch. The Winchester siblings enter the room, shotguns ready. They find dead demons sprawled across the floor.

"I see you told the demons where the sword is." They turn. Zachariah is there with two angels escorting.

"Oh, thank god. The angels are here." Dean says, sarcastically.

"And to think...they could have grabbed it any time they wanted." Zachariah waves a hand to close the door. He looks at Jamie. Jamie's eyes widen. "It was right in front of them."

"What do you mean?" Sam asks. Jamie steps forward, pushing her brothers behind her.

"We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull for Jamie to eat right up, but it happened to be true. We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it. Until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us."

"We don't have anything." Dean says, looking slightly confused.

Jamie turns to her brother. "It's not anything, Dean, it's…"

"It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael sword." Dean stares. "What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one."

"What do you mean, I'm the sword?"

Jamie pushes Dean back behind her.

"You're Michael's weapon. Or, rather, his...receptacle."

"I'm a vessel?" Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie glances over her shoulder at him.

"You're _the_ vessel."

Jamie stares at her brother. "Michael's meatsuit."

"How? Why—why me?"

"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Joking. Always joking. Well...no more jokes." Zachariah raises one hand, fingers like a gun, and points at Dean, Jamie grabs unto Dean, standing fully in front of him. She looks terrified. Zachariah then shifts to Sam. "Bang."

A loud crunch. Sam falls, unable to stand. "God!"

"No!" Jamie screams, but she doesn't move away from Dean.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean yells.

"Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs. I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?"

"How many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?"

"Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive. Isn't that right, Jamie?"

Jamie groans grabs her head. Zachariah floods her head with visions of humans burning in Lucifer's hellfire. "Stop it!"

Dean holds his sister. "There's a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me. You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, there's got to be another way."

"There is no other way. There must be a battle." Zachariah looks at Jamie again. Jamie clutches her teeth together and then opens her mouth.

"And it is written: Lucifier shall be struck down by the general of the armies of Heaven. He whom they have named Michael.

Dean looks at his sister and then at the angels. "Yeah, maybe. But, on the other hand... Eat me. The answer's no."

"Okay. How about this? Your friend Bobby—we know he's gravely injured. Say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again."

Jamie looks at Dean. Sam glances up at Dean. Dean looks at both of his siblings and then shakes his head. "No."

"Then how about we heal you from...stage-four stomach cancer?"

"No!" Jamie pushes Dean out of the way and doubles over, coughing. She spits into her palm: blood.

"Jamie." Jamie shakes her head. "No."

"Huh, wasn't expecting that. Well, then let's get really creative. Uh, let's see how...Sam does without his lungs." Dean turns to look at Sam, who gasps for breath. "Are we having fun yet? You're going to say yes, Dean."

"Just kill us." Dean says.

"Kill you? Oh, no. I'm just getting started." A bright light flashes. Zachariah turns. One of the angels collapses, a bloody hole in his throat. Castiel stands beside him. The other angel fights Castiel. Dean and Zachariah stare; Sam tries to take a breath. Jamie coughs and Dean holds her up. Castiel and the Angel slam each other around. Castiel stabs the other angel in the back. A bright light flashes again. Zachariah stares. Castiel walks closer. In the background, Sam is still and silent. Jamie spits blood unto the floor. "How are you..."

"Alive? That's a good question. How did these two end up on that airplane? Another good question. 'Cause the angels didn't do it. I think we both know the answer, don't we?"

"No. That's not possible."

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now, put the Winchesters back together and go. I won't ask twice." Zachariah vanishes. Sam looks up and around, surprised. Jamie takes deep breaths, holding unto Dean. Sam stands up.

"Castiel. How did Zachariah harm the Voice?" Jamie asks.

"You interfered. I told you before there would consequences."

"So now what?" She asks.

"You three need to be more careful."

Dean nods. "Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought."

"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is circling his vessel. And once he takes it, those hex bags won't be enough to protect you."

Castiel puts one hand on Dean's chest, the other on Sam's. They gasp.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asks.

"An Enochian sigil. It'll hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer."

"What, did you just brand us with it?"

"No. I carved it into your ribs."

"What about me?"

Castiel looks at her. "I'm afraid to try. You may lose your sight again if I do."

Dean turns to them. "You only mean her visions right? And the angel babbling stuff. Not her other powers?"

Castiel looks thoughtful. "Possibly. Jamie is a powerful psychic in her own right, she was born with it, it was not bestowed by us."

Jamie looks at Dean. He nods. She looks at Castiel. "Then do it. Now." He puts his hands on Jamie's chest. Jamie gasps.

A pause.

"Hey, Cas, were you really dead?" Sam asks.

"Yes."

"Then how are you back?" Dean asks.

Castiel vanishes, leaving the Winchester siblings alone.

A nurse walks down a hospital corridor past a patient with a mobile IV stand. Both pass a closed door, behind which Bobby is heard yelling. ""Unlikely to walk again"?! Why, you snot-nosed son of a bitch! Wait till I get out of this bed!" The door bursts open and a Doctor flees. Inside, Bobby sits in a hospital bed and Sam, Jamie, and Dean stand by the window. "I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!" He looks over at the siblings. "You believe that yahoo?"

Dean shakes his head. "Screw him. You'll be fine."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

Sam looks at his brother and sister. "So, let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?"

"Well... We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, heaven or hell, we're boned." Bobby tells him.

"What if we win?" Jamie laughs bitterly. Bobby stares at them. Sam turns to face Jamie and Dean, who sounds a bit too confident. "I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves."

Jamie looks at Sam. "He actually believes what he's saying. For the record."

"And how are we supposed to do all this, genius?" Bobby asks.

"I got no idea. But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out."

"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy."

"It's been said." He pats Bobby on the shoulder. "Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit."

Jamie wraps her arms around Bobby. "Bye Bobby."

"Bye girl. You be careful." Dean heads for the door. Sam follows. "Sam?" He stops. "I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that...that _was_ the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever."

A long pause. Sam sighs. "Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome. I deserve a damn medal for this, but...you're welcome."

They leave.

An ambulance drives past. Sam, Jamie, and Dean walk out to the cars.

Sam looks at Dean. "You know, I was thinking, Dean—maybe we could go after the Colt."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Well that's not a bad idea."

Dean looks at the twins. "Why? What difference would that make?"

Sam shrugs. "Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there—"

"I just said a bunch of crap for Bobby's benefit. Jamie was just backing me up so he'd believe it."

Jamie nods. "Guilty."

Dean stops in the middle of the road. Sam stops, looking at him. Jamie stands between them. "I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight till the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance, and you know that. I mean, hell, you of all people know that." Dean goes around Sam.

"Dean..." He stops and turns back. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Guys…"

A long pause.

"I tried, Sammy. I mean, I really tried. But I just can't keep pretending that everything's all right. Because it's not. And it's never going to be. You chose a demon over your own sister and brother—"Sam rolls his eyes. "—and look what happened."

"I would give anything—anything—to take it all back."

"I know you would. And I know how sorry you are. I do. But, man...you were the one that I depended on the most. And you let me down in ways that I can't even..." He pauses, struggling for words. "I'm just—I'm having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here. You know?"

"What can I do?"

"Honestly? Nothing." Sam nods a little, looking down: this doesn't surprise him. Jamie looks from Dean to Sam and back to Dean. "I just don't...I don't think that we can ever be what we were. You know?" Sam nods again: this isn't a surprise either. "I just don't think I can trust you."

Sam looks up: this he wasn't expecting. Jamie looks at Sam and then at Dean. Dean shakes his head and walks away, pausing at the trunk of the Impala to look back, then gets into the driver's seat. Sam gets into the other car and they both drive away. Jamie stares after them. Castiel appears beside her.

"I need your help."

"Of course you do. But first answer me this. What am I?"

"Exiled. You're still a prophet, you're still protected, as long as you don't directly interfere with the angels."

"So I still have my sight?"

"I don't know."

"I guess we'll find out."


	22. Christmas Special

A/n: So this isn't the next chapter, it's more of an outtake story. I was in a Christmassy mood. It's set between 7x10 and 7x17 and has spoilers for what happens to Jamie in season 5, 6, and 7. The really huge "spoiler" appears right away, though.

"_Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'ver the plains…" _Jamie sang softly to herself as she continued to wash dishes. "_And the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains."_ She put the pot she was washing into the drying rack and turned off the water, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Mahhhmahh." Mark, her seven month old son reached for her from the floor where he was playing with a scrap of wrapping paper. Jamie smiled and walked over to scoop him into her arms. Though he was only seven months old, he had the same dark, clear blue eyes as Castiel's vessel, and his hair was the same dark shade of brown, though it was cut short and never wanted to stay down, much like his uncle Dean's. Jamie tried not frown as she looked at him. She missed them both. "Mahhhmahh" He said again.

"What is it, angel?" Jamie asked as she sat him on her hip. Around his neck was Dean's discarded amulet, still deep gold and shining in the weak light. Mark reached over his mother's shoulder, towards the window. The strawberry blonde hunter turned around, and glanced at the window. White flakes shimmered in the darkness. "It's just snowing, Mark." She said softly, kissing his forehead. "Come on, I'll show you." She walked toward the door and grabbed her black canvas jacket, putting her free arm through it and wrapping the other side around her son. She pulled open the door and a light breeze blew the soft snow into the warm room. She held out her hand and focused her eyes, pulling the flakes towards them. She made a circle with her finger, causing them to spin around them. Mark looked up and giggled happily, reaching out to catch the flakes as they fell.

Jamie kissed her baby again, holding him close as she made another gesture with her hand, shoving the door closed with her telekinesis. Mark yawned she took the jacket off and carried him over to the fireplace at the far wall. A small pinetree was set nearby, decorated with a few brightly colored lights, black, blue, and silver bulbs, and a star in the shape of a pentagram at the very top. She picked up the black blanket drapped over the old wooden rocking chair and sat down, wrapping the blanket around her son and her lap. "What story should I tell you tonight?" She asked, her sapphire eyes gazing down at her mild mannered boy. "I've told you about the vampires, and the jinn, and the wendigos, Azazel, and Lilith." She started rocking him. "Angels and demons, and Lucifer, and Crowley." She sighed. "And the Leviathian that your uncles are fighting. Did I tell you about the time the angels sent your uncle Dean to the future and that he found out about you a whole year and a half before I did?" She chuckled lightly. "He saved you, you know. Before I even knew I was pregnant with you. We were going after this nest of vampires, and he remember what I told him in the future, that I lost a baby in May of 2011 when I was hunting vamps. We were in this alley, we had just busted a kid who was pretending to be a vampire, and your uncle Dean told me to go back to the Impala. Uncle Sam wasn't with us and I was going to go get him, but uncle Dean said no." She grinned a little, looking down at her baby who was gazing up at her, listening to the sound her voice. "He sent me back to the car, and that's when the vampire attacked him. They were looking for young women, like me, and if I had been there he would have targeted me instead of Uncle Dean. If I had been turned, I would have lost you."

"Eee?" Mark babbles, settling his mother's warm embrace.

"Oh Dean was fine. Well, eventually. He did get turned into a vampire, but your great-grandfather knew a cure, which I'm going to show you how to make when you're older." She grinned, looking into the fire. "But anyway, Dean had to get the blood of the vampire who turned him. So he snuck in and pretended he wanted to be part of the nest. Your uncle Dean is great at acting, by the way. Always let him do the talking, but don't ever let Uncle Sam try to do it. He sucks at it."

"Ann!" Mark giggled outloud and Jamie laughed.

"That's my smart boy. Anyway, so while Dean was inside Uncle Sam and your great-grandfather were waiting for him. Suddenly they got attacked by these big vampires who were standing guard. But you know what? Your mommy rushed in and cut their heads off before they could hurt them." Mark began to yawn and curled up closer to his mother. She smiled. "So then we all went inside the vampires' lair. And we found all this blood and these severed heads, and then Uncle Dean sitting in the middle of the room with his foot on the head of the vampire who turned him. And he was okay after we made the cure. But he told me that when he was a vampire he heard two heartbeats when he looked at me instead of one." Mark had fallen asleep and Jamie looked down at her baby. "He's watched over you since before you even existed. And he always will. Your father might be gone, but we've got Dean and he won't ever leave us."

"_Shepards why this jubilee, why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song?_" She hummed softly as she got up and walked across the room towards the single bedroom. A small white crib was in the corner beside the bed. She laid her son down in it and tucked the blankets around him. "_Gloria in excelsis Deo_." She whispered, before bending down and checking the devil's trap painted on the floor. Angel proofing sigils were drawn in blood around the room, and a pentagram, an exact match to the tattoo adoring her right bicep, hung from the ceiling. "Mom, Dad, AJ, Bobby, watch over my son. Keep him from harm. And if it's not too much trouble, keep Dean and Sam safe until I see them again." She pulled the door close and returned to the chair by the fireplace.

Suddenly a sharp wind blew into the room. Jamie grabbed for the gun tucked into the holster at her belt and whirled around, the barrel pointed toward the open door. Three men stood in the doorway, wearing jeans and canvas jackets, bloody and dirty and clearly not dressed for the mountainous Vermont winter. A fourth man lay on a makeshift stretcher behind them. "Who are you and what do you want? Speak quickly." Jamie demand, her blue eyes darting from one figure to the next.

"Lady we don't want any trouble. Our friend is hurt." The one closest to her said, holding his bare hands up. "Please. He's bad. We were in a hunting accident."

Jamie raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer, her gun still raised. "Hunting accident?" She raised her chin and glanced towards the man on the stretcher. She could just make out long clawmarks down the man's abdomen. "Looks more like a werewolf attack to me."

"You know about werewolves?" The stockier man with graying hair just visible under his hat asked.

Jamie nodded. "I'm Jace Winchester."

"Jace Winchester, the vampire slayer? John's daughter?" The man asked, his eyes widening a little.

"You knew my father?" Jamie lowered her gun a little. She was eying the floor as she gestured for the men to come inside. They crossed the hidden devil's trap with ease. She raised the gun again. "Okay, you're not demons. But you could still be Leviathans or worse. Do you mind?"

"You're jumpy." The third man said, taking out his silver knife and nicking his forearm. It bled freely. "You really are Jace Winchester."

"I'm careful. I've got a baby in the backroom, so I'm sure you can understand." She put the gun back into her belt, and gestured for the door to swing shut.

"Where's your husband?" The third hunter asked as they spread out more. Jamie looked up at him. "I mean. You said you had a baby, I just assumed…"

She looked away. "He died."

"I'm sorry."

"Comes with the job." She grabbed her medical kit from its place in one of the wooden cabinets. "Here, there's not much, but there's enough to stop the bleeding, get some painkillers in him, hopefully get him stable until the snow stops and you can get him to the hospital." The first hunter nodded to her, taking the kit. She glanced around and then nodded to the fireplace. "Get warm, get him over closer to the fire. It's colder then hell outside."

The men took their friend closer to the fire and then began removing their jackets. The first hunter was toned and young, mid twenties, pale with short red hair. The older hunter was easily around John's age, he was familiar, and Jamie tried to place him. The third was dark, gruff, early thirties and Jamie figured he had to know her brothers if nothing else because he wore anti-possession pentagram like the one she had hung over her son's crib. "I'm Matt Murphy." The red haired hunter said. "This is my father Jake Murphy, and Ralph Mackey."

"Murphy? Like Father James Murphy?" Jamie asks.

"Pastor Jim was my brother." The gray haired man, Jake, tells her as he bends over the injured man.

"Oh so that's how you knew my father. So I'm guessing you knew Caleb, and Joshua, and Jefferson too. Which would explain how you knew about me." Jamie rubbed her eyes as she walked over to them. She looked down at the injured man and stopped. A moment pasted and she quickly grabbed a piece of gauze out of the medkit and wiped blood away from the man's face. "Dean?!" She yelled, staring down at the man. "What the hell? Why didn't you tell me? Jesus." Jamie turned to the three hunters.

"Sorry Jamie, had to make sure you were legit too." Jake told her.

Jamie took breaths that came out in gasps before sliding unto the floor behind her brother. The three other man joined her. "How long has he been unconscious?" She asked, helping them get his jacket and shirt off.

"Not long. He was awake for most the trip through the snow." Ralph told her. "We gotta get him out of these clothes, he'll get hypothermia."

Jamie put her fingers to her brother's neck. "His pulse is weak."

Jake looked over at her and then down to Dean. "He's still losing too much blood. Matt." Matt looked at his father and nodded, grabbing gauze out of the med kit and trying to stop the bleeding.

"Werewolf or wendigo? What the hell happened?" Jamie demanded, helping Matt.

"Dean met up with us about a possible werewolf kill in the town about 20 miles down the mountain, two days ago. He's a damn good tracker, your brother. We found the thing's lair and lured it out. It was getting messy so Dean went in to gank it and it got him." Ralph explained quickly.

Jamie nodded, looking down at her brother. Her hands were now red with his blood. "_Stay calm, Jace._" She swallowed back the lump in her throat, looking up as she backed up a little so that Ralph could hold Dean's torso while Jake disinfected the wounds with holy water and alcohol.

Dean shot halfway up before Ralph pinned him back down. "Dean!" Jamie yelled, moving in to grab her brother. Dean's green eyes shiftedly blindly until they fell on his sister's face. "Dean. Hold still." She gripped his shoulders, digging her fingers into his flesh. He stared up at her, his body going rigid and then relaxing as he fell back into unconsciousness. Jamie looked up. "Okay. It's mostly flesh wounds, right? No internal organ damage?"

Matt lifted up the gauze. "I don't think so."

"You don't think or you don't know?" Jamie asked, sharply, looking at the younger man.

Matt raised an eyebrow at her and then narrowed his eyes. "I don't know."

"Then move aside." She shoved him away and lifted the gauze for herself.

Behind her Ralph looked at Jake and smirked. "Yeah, she's Dean's sister, alright. She's cold and dark as all hell. Stubborn as a mule."

"Yeah, they got that from their daddy." Jake told him, moving in to help Jamie stitch the claw marks on Dean's stomach closed.

"You alright?" Jamie was standing beside her brother, hanging his jeans on a line she had strung so that they'd dry faster by the fire. She looked over at Matt, who was propped up on his elbows watching her. Jake and Ralph were still asleep on the floor nearby. "Jace?"

"You can call me Jamie." She said softly, sitting down beside her brother and putting her hand against his cheek.

"Are you alright?" He asked again, throwing off his blanket and moving closer to her.

"I'm fine."

"Liar." His gaze was piercing. She turned away. "He's not going to die, if that's it."

"I know."

"That isn't it, though, is it? They say you have precognition, so you'd know."

"It doesn't always work that way, but yeah, I see Dean walking out of here on his own two feet and not with a reaper either." She cast a look in his direction but quickly glanced down again. "Whose they?"

"Other hunters, my dad. They talk about you and your brothers sometimes."

"I'm glad we're famous."

"Are you kidding? Michael's vessel, Lucifer's meatsuit, the voice in the desert, pretty crazy. Not to mention you've all cheated death."

Jamie scoffed lightly, looking at him. "You can't cheat Death. Dean tried." Matt smirked. "What else do you know about me?"

"I know you lost AJ."

"You knew AJ?"

"Yeah. Pretty well, in fact. We'd cross paths now and then. He was a good guy."

"My fiancé." She raised her hand and showed him the silver band on her ring finger with the words "Non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es" engraved on it.

Matt smirks. "I bet you miss him."

Jamie sighs, pulling her black blanket off the chair and putting it over Dean and on her lap."Every damn day."

"So that angel Dean and Sam were riding with, that the husband who died? If you don't mind me askin, course."

Jamie looks at him and then down to Dean. "He wasn't my husband. We were lovers but it wasn't…it's complicated."

"I got all night."

"When Sam went to hell…Dean gave up hunting. I, on the other hand, got pulled into Castiel's war against Raphael in heaven. He gave me wings, and made me his general. Later I found out that he did that to keep me from figuring out that he was working with Crowley to open Purgatory, but um, for about a year we were together."

"Sex with an angel must have a real treat."

Jamie looked up and snickered. "Yeah, well, we didn't really…much…I mean, he uh called me by the wrong name a couple times."

Matt's eyes widened and he laughed. "The angel had someone else in mind?"

"We both did."

Matt smirked. "So…what happened? He knocked you up, huh?"

"Once I was no longer an angel…something happened. I don't know what it was, a miracle, maybe. But yeah, my baby is his son. And now he'll never know his father."

"That's too bad."

"Hmm. Not like I ever really knew mine."

"But you wanted to. Isn't that why you got into the life?"

Jamie raises her head slowly and looks at him. "I wanted my brothers back."

"I see."

"Where the hell is Sam, anyway?"

"Dean said something about him and Leviathans."

"Great." Dean chooses that moment to yell out in pain, pulling Jamie and Matt from their conversation. Jamie reacts immediately, moving to her brother and grabbing his hand. "Dean? Dean, I'm here, what do you need?"

"Jamie?" Dean's voice is a whimper and it breaks her heart. "Goddamn it hurts, what the hell happened?" Matt gestures to the med kit out of Dean's line of sight. Jamie nods just slightly, squeezing her brother's hand.

"Werewolf got ya pretty good, dude. But we ganked it. Now you just have to concentrate on healing." Matt tells him while he fills a syringe.

"Matt? Hey. You guys all alright?" Dean tries to twist to see the man's face but Jamie holds his shoulder down.

"Don't move. Yeah. Your little sister is taking good care of us." Matt pulls the blanket back and puts his hand on Dean's bicep. "Go back to sleep, Deuce." Jamie looks up at the nickname. She hasn't heard it since AJ was alive and hearing Matt say it…maybe if she closed her eyes it'd be AJ's voice. Dean hisses at the bite of the needle, his angry gaze meeting Jamie's. She swallows a lump, but at the same moment Dean fades into unconsciousness, her baby starts crying.

She forces herself to let go of Dean's hand and get up. Matt stays still for a moment and then follows her into the bedroom. He leans against the door, watching her rock the baby back to sleep. "_Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'ver the plains…"_ She sings softly, lulling her son back to sleep. "_And the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains." _

"You should sleep too." He tells her, startling her slightly when she puts the baby back in his crib.

She sighs, checking the devil's trap as she always does and sits on the bed. "It's already almost morning." He glances at the clock and realizes she's correct. "Besides, Dean will be awake soon and probably pissed off at we drugged him, so…" She gets up and walks past him. He stops her.

"You should still try to sleep." She moves away from him and goes back into the main room. He sighs and follows her.

Jamie cooks breakfast for the hunters in silence. She's almost finished by the time the older men stir from their sleep. Matt doesn't say much. He just stands in the corner watching her. Eventually he helps her bring plates out to the hunters. There's only two chairs so they eat on the floor. "How's Dean?" Ralph asks.

"He only woke up once." Jamie tells him.

"Yeah, but I drugged him and he's been asleep ever since." Matt adds.

They fall silent again, until the food is gone. "That was a mighty fine meal, Jamie." She blushes a little, nodding to Jake to acknowledge the compliment as she takes up the plates and dumps them in the sink.

"You guys going to stick around?" She asks, leaning against the sink and looking towards them. "Snow stopped last night. Trails will clear soon."

"If I'm not needed, I'll be headin off." Ralph says, getting up and grabbing his jacket from the line.

Jake nods. "Go on ahead, Mackey. I'm gonna stick around another couple days, till Deuce is back on his feet."

Ralph holds up a hand in farewell. "If you need you know where to find me." He says as he grips the door. "Jace, thank you kindly for breakfast. Give my regards to Deuce." He's gone before Jamie can really respond.

Mark is sitting up and crying in his crib before Jamie can reach him. She grips her son tight and pulls him from the bed. He's wet and hungry and she hopes Dean sleeps for another hour because she can't be in two places at once. Matt walks in on her topless, Mark loudly suckling in her arms. He immediately flushes with embarrassment but she doesn't seem fazed. "What?" She asks, calmly, looking over at her shoulder at him.

"Dean's running a fever." He says, with his hand over his eyes.

"Shit." She cusses, getting up, careful not to jostle her baby. She pulls her tank top up over one shoulder and puts her red plaid shirt on over one arm, covering her son with a blanket as she hurriedly leaves the room. "Jake?"

Jake is bent over her brother, moping his brow with a clean cloth. "Infection's set in. Stitches gotta come out, and the wound needs to be irrigated." He tells her.

She turns paler than normal, her lower lip trembling. Matt takes a step towards her, but she steps away from him. In her mind she sees Dean dead, his chest ripped open by hellhounds. Herself and her twin trapped, with Lilith closing in. She takes a few deep breaths trying to keep it together. "Can you…" She swallows thickly, looking at Matt. "Call Sam?"

She needs her twin. She needs him here. It's been a long time since she's been able to say that. More often than not she and her twin have parted friends rather than siblings. If there is one way that she is not like Dean it's that she cannot forgive their brother as easily. She carries the weight of his betrayals, of his wrongs, more deeply then Dean can understand. Everything Sam has done. Everything he is, stands in polar opposite to herself. She is the younger twin by minutes, but they were born on the opposite sides of midnight. May 3rd, her birthday, is the feast of James the Less, the brother of the Lord. And therein lies the difference. Sam was poisoned as a baby, destined to be Lucifer's vessel, but she was born a psychic in her own right, and awakened as a prophet, as a servant of Michael. She's bound to the righteous man, and not the brother she shared a womb with. Even still, the first time Sam drank demon blood willingly; it was as though her heart had been ripped in two. Dean was dead and buried and it could not have hurt her more if Sam had killed their brother himself. She still has not forgiven him for it. For the pain she felt at that moment. She probably never will.

Coming back to reality, her phone springs to life and Sam's voice is questioning her. "Sammy, hey." She says after a minute.

"What's wrong, Jamie?"

"Dean got hurt on the hunt he was on."

"The werewolf? Is it bad? Is he alright?"

"You need to come, Sam."

"Oh shit. I'm about 3 hours out, I'll be there in 2. Tell him to hold on."

"Yeah. See ya soon Sammy." The phone goes dark again. Matt looks at her curiously, but she turns away, sitting down beside her brother with her son in her arms. She looks at Jake. "Can you help him?"

"I'll try my damnest, Jace."

"You have to help him, there's no way with him running that fever that we'll be able to move him and get him to a hospital. The nearest one is like 50 miles. They'd have to airlift him and…" She pulled into another memory. Her damn power of clairvoyancey isn't giving her a moment's rest. She sees her father, her brothers, and herself, gravely injured from a run-in with a demon possessed trucker. The Impala is totaled. Paramedics are loading them unto the plane. She's on a stretcher, watching her father, unconscious being loaded on. Sam is hysterical beside her, and she doesn't see Dean. "Why won't you tell me about my brother?" She blinks and Jake and Matt are staring at her. She gets up quickly and hurries into the bedroom, the door slamming shut behind her.

Mark wails as she puts him in his crib. "Mahhhmahh." He mutters, clearly frustrated when she hands him his favorite bear.

"Shh, baby please. Shh." She clenches her hands into fists, squeezing her eyes shut. "Dean." She says after a moment. "Dean." She says again. The premonition won't come. She can no longer see Dean's future. "No! No! Let me see, goddamnit! Let me see!" She drives her fist into the wall, force strong enough to crack the wood. Still the vision will not come.

Her cry is one of bitter despair as she stands outside in the snow. Sam grabs her as he gets out of the Impala, wraps his arms around her tightly and holds her up with all his strength. "Mom, Dad, AJ, Bobby, and Castiel." She mutters. "He is going to die, Sam. He is going to die." Utter hopelessness laces her voice and she buries her face into Sam's chest. For his part her twin chooses not to argue with her. He knows all too well what it means when her sight is dark.

"He's awake." Matt mutters, opening the door. "He's asking for you two." The twins look at each other and Jamie wipes her eyes on the back of her hand. They walk inside, shaking off the snow and go toward the bedroom where Dean has been moved.

"He's a little out of it." Jake looks exhausted and Sam nods to the old hunter. "I got most of the infection out, but he's still running a fever. Gonna be touch and go tonight, but I think he's got a shot." He leaves to give the siblings some privacy as they separate and walk in on opposite sides. Jamie kneels down and takes Dean's hand, propping her chin and other arm on the bed. Sam takes Dean's other hand and sits down beside him on the bed.

"Such a chick flick." Dean mutters softly, his green eyes opening and darting between his siblings. "Sammy, hey."

"God, I'm so sorry. I should have come with you." Sam squeezes his hand.

"Yeah, and then you'd be lying right next to me. You two are safe, that's all that matters." His eyes are heavy again and he closes them.

"Dean?" Jamie asks, squeezing his hand.

"I'm still here, Jamie." He says quietly.

She can't stop the tears that are flowing down her cheeks. "Dean." She says again.

"Hey, hey. Stop, okay? Save it for my funeral, jeeze." He forces his hand up to her face and wipes the tears away, before his arm drops limply unto the bed. "Sammy, take care of her, ya know. In case something happens. None of this arguing crap. You two shared Mom for nine months, you can get along for the rest of your lives." He closes his eyes again, and Jamie starts sobbing. Sam puts his hand over his eyes.

Across the room Mark begins to wail. Jamie bolts to grab him. He holds tightly to her and she holds him close, bringing him over to Sam, who strokes his hair and rubs his back. "Sammy." Jamie gasps through her sobs. Sam frowns, his green eyes bearing into her.

"What are you doing?" Mark is asleep against his mother's chest, She holds him in one arm and with the other she continues to mix ingredients into a dark pot. Sam walks over to her, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Jamie?"

"It's a summoning spell. Cas taught it to me."

"Summoning for what?"

"An angel. Any angel. I don't care who comes. But I am not going to lose him, Sam."

"Jamie…"

"No! No, Sam." She stares at him with eyes full of tears as she slits her palm and bleeds into the pot. "Per vocem, voco tibi. Per mea potestate, voco tibi. Exaudi vocem meam, venire ad me."

Smoke rose from the pot, but minutes passed and nothing happened. Tears streaked down Jamie's face and with a powerful telekinetic blast she sent the pot crashing into the wall. Mark started sobbing, startled by the sound and his mother took a deep breath before rocking him. Sam walked over and wrapped his arms around her. Softly she began to sing. "_Shepards why this jubilee, why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song."_

"He's not breathing!"

"Dad, I'm starting CPR!"

"Come on kid, start breathing. Come on, your daddy will skin my hide if you die on my watch."

"Dean!"Tense moments passed while Matt and Jake worked over Dean. Sam stood off to the side, letting them work. Jamie stood at the back of the room, Mark still sleeping in her arms. "_Gloria in excelsis Deo!" _She whispered, just barely audible.

Dean coughed and Matt and Jake looked at each other and then back to Jamie. "Girl, keep singing." Jake told her.

"_Come to Bethleham and see him whose birth the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord the newborn king. Gloria in excelsis Deo!"_

"He's back." Matt said looking towards Sam and Jamie. He and Jake moved away and Sam and Jamie rushed to his side. She put the baby on the bed beside him and knelt down. Sam knelt on the other side.

"Hey." Sam said softly.

Dean opened his eyes painfully and looked around. "Hey." His voice cracked. "Can't a guy get a drink around here?"

Jamie wiped her eyes and laughed softly. Jake came in with a glass of water. He handed it to Jamie. Sam put his arms under his brother's head and raised his torso slightly as Jamie put the glass to his lips. He drank some of it before Sam eased him back unto the bed. "There ya go, bro." He whispered softly.

"What did I tell you about crying, Jamie?" She quickly wiped off the remaining tears. "You don't kill Dean Winchester this easily."

"Ee." Mark whimpered. Dean glanced at the boy. Weakly raising his arm and touching his face. "Ee." Mark said again and then squeezed his eyes shut. He placed his hand on Dean's stomach, and Dean's hand came down on top of his.

"Hey buddy." Dean whispered. "Sorry I missed our first target practice." He gruffed lightly at his own joke. Suddenly he felt Mark's hand grow warm against his skin. It felt…almost like when Cas would…no it wasn't possible. He was a baby. "Jamie." He said looking towards his sister. Jamie looked at Sam and then down at her son. A few moments later Mark opened his eyes. Dean blinked and sat straight up.

"Oh my god!" Sam said outloud in spite of himself. "Oh my god! Dean?"

Dean stared down at his stomach in amazement, pulling back the bandages to reveal fresh scars where there were claw marks. He looked at his nephew in amazement, pulling the baby into his arms and holding him tightly. Jamie and Sam grabbed unto their brother and hugged him. "I guess he's Cas's son afterall." Dean said, looking straight at Jamie.

"_See him in a manger laid, Jesus lord of heaven and earth. Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, with us sing our Savior's birth. Gloria in excelsis Deo."_

"Hey." Dean came up behind his sister, dressed in his jeans and a clean t-shirt, and wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling him closer to her. They stared at Mark, asleep again in his crib.

"Hey. How you feeling?"

"Amazing." Dean answered, kissing her cheek as he held her in his arms. "Guess I need to come around more often."

"Why is that?"

"My nephew needs a father. Sooner than we thought, too." Jamie laughed lightly as they broke away. She pulled the blanket closer around her baby while Dean checked the devil's trap and batted at the pentagram. He also checked the sigils on the walls. She touched the amulet around her son's neck briefly before moving away.

"Mom, Dad, AJ, Bobby watch over our boy, keep him from harm." Dean spoke the words in time with her, and then he grabbed her hand as they moved out of the room, shutting the door behind them. "He's an amazing kid, Jamie."

"Yeah he is." She said turning to him. "Don't scare me like that again." He smiled sheepishly, squeezing his sister's hand.

"Well, seeing as we're no longer needed here, we best be off." Jake and Matt were already by the door, packed and ready to leave.

"Thank you for everything." Dean said. The other hunters nodded. "See ya around."

Jake nodded. "You three take care of yourselves. And you ever need a thing, give me a call."

Matt stared at Jamie for a moment, before the youngest Winchester stepped forward and pulled him into a kiss. "Gimme a call if you're round these parts again." She told him.

"I will." He promised, before following his father out the door.

Sam snickered softly once they were gone. "No he won't."

"Shut up." Jamie remarked, elbowing her twin. "You two gonna stick around for Christmas dinner?"

"Christmas?" Dean asked. "Is it Christmas already?"

"In two days, jerk. You've lost track of time or something?"

"Shut up, bitch."

"I'm going to take that as a yes. Which means you two better go into town and get food, because all the hunters in the here the last two days ate me out of a week's worth."

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't ma'am me. Get your asses moving. And get back here before it starts to snow again." As her brothers left Jamie sighed, the stress of the last two days finally leaving her. She untied her hair and brushed it out with her fingers, leaning heavily against the counter where she had been standing. "Castiel, my brother watches over our son like you watched over him. Please, please, if he cannot have you, let him have Dean, at least for a little while longer." She felt a soft breeze behind her, and heard the unmistakable faint fluttering of wings, but when she turned there was no one there.


	23. 503 Free to be You and Me

Jamie sits down on the bed and sighs, pulling her hair loose. She can't remember the last time she's slept but she's fairly certain it been a couple days. Castiel is outside waiting for her to shower and change and they have to leave again. It's been over a year, she realizes. Over a year since she's met Castiel. Over a year since her awakening as a prophet. It's been awhile since she's actually sat down and digested it. With another sigh she gets up and takes off her shirt and jeans, tossing them into her bag and walks into the bathroom.

Dean dampens a washcloth in the motel room sink and starts to clean his jacket. Castiel appears behind him. Dean sees him in the mirror and startles. "God." He thumps the sink. "Don't do that."

"Hello, Dean."

Dean turns around; Castiel is inches from him. "Cas, we've talked about this. Personal space?"

"My apologies." He steps back. Jamie walks into the room, her hair is still wet and she's wearing grey jeans and a black canvas jacket. Dean grabs his jacket and walks toward the bed.

"Jamie? You're back early."

"Cas brought me."

"How'd you find me? I thought I was flying below the angel radar." He rubs his ribs to illustrate the point.

"You are. Bobby told us where you were." Castiel looks around the motel room, which has no signs of Sam's presence, not even a second bed. "Where's Sam?"

"Not here obviously." Jamie says softly, looking at her brother.

Dean puts on his jacket without looking at either of them. "Me and Sam are taking separate vacations for a while. find God yet? More importantly, can I have my damn necklace back, please?"

"No, I haven't found him. That's why I'm here. I need your help."

"With what? God hunt? Not interested."

"It's not God. It's someone else."

"Who?"

"Archangel. The one who killed me."

Dean finally turns to look at them. "Raphael?"

Castiel nods. "Yes."

Dean smirks. "I still can't believe you were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel."

Jamie looks up. "Not just any teenage mutant ninja angel. Raphael is one of the four archangels, Heaven's most powerful. He's lord of the air."

"Jamie…you're getting as bad as him."

"Sorry."

Castiel watches both siblings with a confused look, and then turns to Dean. "I've heard whispers that he's walking the earth. This is a rare opportunity."

"For what? Revenge?" Dean asks.

"Information." Castiel tells him.

Jamie nods. "He can tell us where God is."

Dean goes back over to the sink, picks up his knife and a washcloth, and starts to clean the knife. "So, what, you think you can find this dude and he's just gonna spill God's address?"

"Yes, because we are gonna trap him and interrogate him."

Dean pauses and turns back. "You're serious about this." He looks at his sister. "He's serious about this?"

"You don't realize how serious."

Castiel turns around to face Dean. Dean drops the washcloth and walks back toward the angel. "So, what, I'm Thelma and you're Louise and we're just going to hold hands and sail off this cliff together? Bring Jamie along for the ride?" Castiel stares at Dean, confused. Jamie scoffs. Castiel looks at her and she shakes her head. Dean goes around Castiel and puts the knife away. "Give me one good reason why I should do this."

"Because you're Michael's vessel and no angel will dare harm you."

He looks back at him. "Oh, so I'm your bullet shield. What about Jamie?"

"Jamie is a prophet in exile, she is fair game to Raphael."

"I thought your archangels were sworn to protect her?"

"They are. But as a prophet in exile if I harm an archangel in any way, I become fair game for the armies of heaven. And no offense Dean, but I'd kind of like to keep my soul. We can't do this without you."

Castiel nods. "I need your help because you are the only one who'll help us. Please."

Dean considers. "All right, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine. Let's go." He reaches to touch Dean's forehead with two fingers. Dean leans away.

"Whoa."

Castiel removes his hand. "What?"

"Last time you zapped me someplace I didn't poop for a week. We're driving."

Jamie looks at Dean and laughs.

Dean Jamie and Castiel get out of the Impala at the Sheriff's Office in Watervill, Maine. Jamie grabs her bag and looks through it.

"And we're here why?" Dean asks.

"A deputy sheriff laid eyes on the archangel." Castiel explains.

"And he still has eyes? Is he one of your freaky prophet things?"

Jamie shakes her head, finally finding her fake FBI ID. "No. It's not just certain prophets who can lay eyes on an angel's true form."

"All right, what's the plan?"

Castiel pauses. "We'll...tell the officer that he witnessed an angel of the Lord, and the officer will tell us where the angel is."

Dean looks at him. "Seriously? You're going to walk in there and tell him the truth?"

"Why not?"

"Because they'll send us to the rubber room." Jamie answers automatically, fiddling with her skirt.

Dean smirks a little looking at his sister. "Well that, and because we're humans." He pulls out another fake ID and stashes it inside Castiel's coat, then adjusts his coat and tie. "And when humans want something really, really bad, we lie."

"Why?" Castiel asks, looking up at Dean.

"Because that's how you become President."

Castiel looks over at Jamie. Jamie shakes her head. "Cas…"

"Oh, is this one those things that Dean just says to avoid an awkward conversation?"

"Heh." She scoffs.

They walk into office and Dean looks around. "Deputy Framingham?" The Deputy turns around. Dean and Jamie hold up FBI ID.

"I'm Alana Turner, FBI. These are my associates." Jamie tells him.

Dean nods. "Hi. Alonzo Mosely. This is my partner, Eddie Moscone." Castiel does nothing. "Also FBI." Castiel does nothing. Dean and Jamie stare at him. Castiel finally catches on and pulls out his FBI ID, which he displays upside-down. Dean turns it over for him. Jamie rolls her eyes, and smiles. "He's, uh, he's new. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

Castiel looks at the ID, curious. Jamie waves her finger and the ID drops on the floor so that she can pick it up.

"Yeah, sure. Talk here, though." The deputy indicates his right ear, leading Dean, Jamie, and Castiel to his office. "Hearing's all blown to hell in this one."

"That happen recently?" Dean asks.

"Yeah. Gas station. Why you're here, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." They all sit down. "You mind just, uh, running us through what happened?"

"A call came in. Disturbance out at the Pump and Go on Route 4."

Dean moves forward in his chair. "What kind of disturbance?"

"Would not have believed my eyes if I hadn't seen it myself. We're talking a riot. Full scale."

"How many?" Jamie asks.

"Thirty, forty, in all-out kill-or-be-killed combat?"

Jamie and Dean look at each other. "Any idea what set them off?"

Castiel speaks up. "It's angels and demons, probably." The deputy looks at him. Castiel looks back. Jamie's jaw goes slack. Dean gives her a look. Jamie glares at him. "They're skirmishing all over the globe."

"Come again?" He turns back to Dean. "What did he say?"

"Nothing. Nothing." Dean says at the same time Castiel says. "Demons. Demons."

Jamie reaches behind Dean's chair and pinches Castiel. He shuts up. ""Inner demons." she explains.

"Yeah, you know, drink, adultery. We all have our demons, Walt."

Jamie nods. "Happens all the time."

The deputy looks back and forth. "I guess."

"Anyway, what happened next?" Dean asks.

"Freaking explosion, that's what. They said it was one of those underground gas tanks, but, uh, I don't think so."

"Why not?

"Wasn't your usual fireball. It was, um—"

"Pure white." Castiel and Jamie say at the same time.

"Yeah. Gas station was leveled. Everyone was...it was just horrible. And I see this one guy, kneeling, real focused-like, not a damn scratch on him."

"You know him?" Dean asks.

"Donnie Finneman. Mechanic there."

"Let me guess, he just, uh, vanished into thin air?"

"Uh, no, Kolchak. He's down at Saint Pete's."

Castiel turns to Dean and Jamie. "Saint Pete's."

"Hospital." Jamie whispers.

"Thank you." Dean says to the Deputy as they get up.

Donnie is sitting in a wheelchair in the hospital, catatonic. Dean, Jamie and Castiel observe him from the hallway window. "I take it that's not Raphael anymore." Dean says.

Castiel nods. "Just an empty vessel."

Jamie sighs. "Poor bastard."

"So is this what I'm looking at if Michael jumps in my bones?"

"No, not at all. Michael is much more powerful. It'll be far worse for you."

"Cas!" Dean looks away. Jamie hits Castiel's shoulder.

"What did I do?" Jamie gives him a look.

"Oh. That's one of those things I'm not supposed to say."

DEAN walks through the empty cabin, paging through John's journal. Jamie comes out of the bedroom and leans against the wall. "Dad have anything helpful?" She asks.

"Not really."

"Yeah. I don't either." She holds up her journal. "Nothing we're gonna get very far with anyway. I'm not as fluent in angel as I am in Latin." Dean sets John's journal down on the table and turns. Castiel is there, holding a ceramic jar. "Cas."

"Where've you been?" Dean asks.

"Jerusalem."

"Oh, how was it?"

"Arid." He sets the jar on the table.

"What's that?"

"It's oil. It's very special. Very rare."

Jamie picks it up and looks at it. Castiel sits down.

"Okay, so we trap Raphael with a nice vinaigrette?"

"No."

"So this ritual of yours, when does it got to go down?"

"Sunrise."

"Tell me something. You keep saying we're gonna trap this guy. Isn't that kinda like trapping a hurricane with a butterfly net?"

"No, it's harder."

"Do we have any chance of surviving this?"

"You do. Jamie has a better chance as long as she stays out of the way."

Jamie looks up. "That depends on your chances, Cas. Not just Dean's."

"You must not try anything to save me, Jamie."

She shakes her head. "You can't ask that of me."

"I'm not, I'm telling you."

Dean looks at them. "Okay, so odds are you're a dead man tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Well. Last night on earth. What are your plans?"

"I just thought I'd sit here quietly."

"Sit and twiddle your thumbs, really? Come on, anything? Booze, women?" Castiel looks at Dean and away, uncomfortable. "You have been with women before. Right? Or an angel, at least?" Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie smirks. Castiel rubs the back of his neck. "You mean to tell me you've never been up there doing a little cloud-seeding?"

"I've never had occasion, okay?"

Jamie snorts. "You mean relations, Cas."

"All right." Dean grabs his jacket. He tosses Jamie hers.

Jamie looks at her jacket and then up to her brother with a look of disbelief. "Dean I'm wearing hunter gear. I've got a knife strapped to my thigh."

Dean shrugs. "You have plenty of time to get laid."

"Not the point, Dean." She gets up and puts her jacket on.

Castiel looks at them. "Um…excuse me?"

Dean turns to him. "Let me tell you something, Cas. There are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not gonna die a virgin. Not on my watch. Let's go."

Jamie nods to the door. "Come on, Cas."

They. Castiel stares after them, then follows.

In the brothel, Dean drinks. Jamie sips her drink. Castiel looks terrified.

"Cas…"

"Hey. Relax." Dean tells him.

"This is a den of iniquity. I should not be here. Jamie should not be here." He points to the Winchester girl.

Jamie tips her head back and finishes her drink. She turns to Castiel. "Prophet in exile. I can do whatever the hell I want. Except kill."

Dean nods. "Dude, you full-on rebelled against heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks."

"Not a bad one either."

A Hooker approaches. Dean and Jamie notice. "Showtime."

"Hi. What's your name?" The hooker asks. Castiel tries not to look at her.

"Cas." Dean answers for him.

Castiel startles.

Jamie looks to the Hooker. "His name is Cas. What's your name?"

"Chastity."

"Chastity." Dean looks at his sister and she smirks. Castiel drinks his beer. "Wow. Is that kismet or what, buddy? Well, he likes you, you like him, so dayenu."

Jamie takes Castiel's beer. "That is not the Latin word for sex." She finishes his drink and gets up.

Chastity tugs Castiel up. "Come on, baby."

Dean catches the angel on the way past. "Hey, listen. Take this." He holds out a handful of money. "If she asks for a credit card, no. Now just stick to the basics, okay? Do not order off the menu. Go get her, tiger." Castiel stays still. "Don't make me push you." Castiel takes the money and turns to follow Chastity. Another hooker walks past; Dean follows her. They clink glasses at the bar. "Well, cheers to you." Beside them Jamie is making out with another Hooker. Dean sees this and raises an eyebrow. "Uh, sis. Something you'd like to tell me?"

Jamie looks up. "Later." She looks back at the hooker and starts kissing her again.

Suddenly they hear a scream. Dean gets up. Jamie pulls away and starts to get up. Dean turns to her. "No, I got this, you just…keep going."

Jamie stares at her brother in disgust. "Dean…gutter." She goes to investigate, Dean follows her.

"Get out of my face! Leave me alone! Bastard! Screw you, jerk!" Chastity throws something at Castiel, who is a little disheveled. "I'll kill you!" She storms past Dean and Jamie. "Screw you too! God! Oh! Jerk!"

"Cas?" Jamie asks.

Dean approaches him. "The hell did you do?"

"I don't know. I just looked her in the eyes and told her it wasn't her fault that her father Gene ran off. It was because he hated his job at the post office."

"Oh Cas." Jamie goes over to them.

Dean shakes his head. "Oh, no, man."

"What?"

"This whole industry runs on absent fathers. It's, it's the natural order."

Jamie scoffs. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't imply I should be a hooker." Two Bouncers enter from the door Chastity left through. "Dean."

"We should go. Come on." They head for the door at the opposite end of the corridor.

Dean is laughing as he closes the door behind himself, Jamie, and Castiel. Jamie looks at him and snickers, wiping her mouth.

"What's so funny?" Castiel asks.

"Oh, nothing. Whoo. It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard. It's been more than a long time. Years."

Dean's face falls as he realizes. Jamie looks at him and laces her fingers through his.

Back in St. Peter's Hospital, a nurse walks down the hallway. Dean watches her go and he and Jamie slip into the room. Jamie blows the door closed behind them and Dean closes the shades. Castiel is already inside; he pours the oil in a circle around Donnie's wheelchair. "When the oil burns, no angel can touch or pass through the flames, or he dies."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Damn. Don't use it all up then. Might come in handy later."

Dean sighs. "Okay, so we trap him in a steel cage of holy fire, but one question. How the hell do we get him here?"

Jamie looks at her brother and then at the angel. "Shouldn't be too difficult."

" It's simple really. There's, well, almost an open phone line between a vessel and his angel. One just has to know how to dial." Castiel leans down to Donnie's ear and chants in Enochian. "I'm here, Raphael. Come and get me, you little bastard." He leaves the oil circle.

Dean looks at Jamie. "Just out of curiosity, what is the average customer wait time to speak to an archangel?"

"Short." She pulls Dean back. "Be ready."

Castiel lights a match and drops it on the oil, which bursts into a ring of flame.

Dean, Jamie and Castiel drive up to the abandoned cabin. "Well that's a day I'll never get back." Dean remarks as they enter the house.

Jamie turns to her brother. "Dean!" She puts her hand to Dean's face.

"Dean, wait."

Bright light. Castiel and Jamie shield Dean's eyes.

Donnie is already inside the cabin, flaring with lightning in the shape of wings; now he is Raphael. Lightbulbs shatter. "Castiel."

"Raphael."

They all walk closer.

Jamie raises her chin. "Ave Raphael, dominus aeris."

Raphael nods. "Ave, canis in exilium."

Castiel tenses. "You dare insult the voice in the desert?"

"She is in exile. She is no longer worthy of our praise."

Dean looks around. "And I thought you were supposed to be impressive. All you do is black out the room."

"And the Eastern Seaboard." Lightning flashes outside. "It is a testament to my unending mercy that I do not smite you here and now."

"Or maybe you're full of crap. Maybe you're afraid God will bring Cas back to life again and smite you and your candy-ass skirt. By the way, hi, I'm Dean."

"I know who you are. And now, thanks to him, I know where you are."

Castiel sneers. "You won't kill him. You wouldn't dare."

Raphael smirks. "But I will take him to Michael."

Jamie steps in front of her brother. "You can try."

"What have you seen, prophetess?"

Jamie scoffs. "Oh now I'm the prophetess? A moment ago I was the bitch in exile. You cannot command me, Raphael, and you cannot harm me. Michael still protects me."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Dean looks between them. "Well then. Sounds terrifying. It does. But, uh, hate to tell you, I'm not going anywhere with you." He grabs a beer and hands one to Jamie.

"Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?"

"Yeah, that was, that was hilarious."

Jamie pushes him back a step. "Dean."

"Well, he doesn't have anything close to my imagination."

"Yeah? I bet you didn't imagine one thing."

"What?"

"We knew you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch." Dean lights his lighter and drops it. Holy oil ignites in a circle around Raphael. "Don't look at me, it was his idea."

"Where is he?" Castiel demands.

"God? Didn't you hear? He's dead, Castiel. Dead."

Jamie's hands ball into fists. "Liar!"

"But there's no other explanation. He's gone for good."

"You are lying." She takes a step forward.

"Am I? Castiel, do you remember the twentieth century? Think the twenty-first is going any better? Do you think God would have let any of that happen if he were alive?"

Jamie stares at him. "Qui sunt te interrogare Deus?" Jamie and Raphael stare at each other.

Dean looks at Raphael. "Oh yeah? Well then who invented the Chinese basket trick?"

"Careful. That's my father you're talking about, boy."

"Yeah, who would be so proud to know his sons started the frigging apocalypse."

"Who ran off and disappeared? Who left no instructions and a world to run?"

Jamie shrugs. "Michael seems to be doing a pretty bang up job without him."

Dean looks at her and then back at the angels. "Daddy ran away and disappeared. He didn't happen to work for the post office, did he?"

"This is funny to you? You're living in a godless universe."

"And? What, you and the other kids just decided to throw an apocalypse while he was gone?"

"We're tired. We just want it to be over. We just want...paradise."

"So, what, God dies and makes you the boss and you decide you can do whatever you want?"

"Yes. And whatever we want, we get."

The windows burst in. Dean grabs Jamie and throws himself over her. Castiel looks at them and then towards Raphael. "You dare place the prophetess in danger? Even in exile she is protected by Michael!"

Jamie's eyes widen, realizing. "Cas, we have to go. We have to get Dean out here."

Dean looks at her as they get up. "What?"

"He's trying to summon Michael by putting me in danger." The siblings go for the door. Castiel turns to them.

"Just a minute. If God is dead, why have I returned? Who brought me back?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Lucifer raised you?"

Jamie takes a step forward. "How dare you."

"No." Castiel shakes his head.

"Think about it. He needs all the rebellious angels he can find. You know it adds up."

"Let's go." He goes towards the siblings.

"Castiel, I'm warning you. Do not leave me here. I will find you."

"Maybe one day. But today, you're my little bitch." He grabs unto Jamie and pulls her along with him. Dean follows, pausing.

"What he said."

Dean drives. Castiel rides shotgun. Jamie is in the backseat. She rubs her temples. Dean glances back at her in the rearview mirror. "We aren't about to get hit by a demonic truck again are we?"

"No. It's a vision. I'm alright."

"Anything we need to be worried about?"

" It's not all clear yet."

Dean nods and looks at Castiel. "You okay?" He is silent. "Look, I'll be the first to tell you that this little crusade of yours is nuts, but I do know a little something about missing fathers."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean every time I was looking for my dad when all logic said that he was dead, but I knew in my heart he was still alive."

Jamie moves closer to them. "So who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?"

"I believe he's out there."

"Good. Go find him. And take Jamie with you. She should be some help, right?"

Jamie groans. "Do I have a choice?"

"What about you?"

"What about me? I don't know. Honestly, I'm good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I am, I'm really good."

"Even without your brother?"

"Especially without my brother. I mean, I spent so much time worrying about the son of a bitch. I mean, I've had more fun with you in the past twenty-four hours than I've had with Sam in years, and you're not that much fun. It's funny, you know, I've been so chained to my family, but now that I'm alone, hell, I'm happy." Dean looks over; the shotgun seat is empty. He looks behind him and Jamie has vanished as well.


	24. 504 The End

A/n: In honor of finishing my finals (finally) here's the next chapter. Which is one of my personal favorites, even if you guys who are reading don't REVIEW! -_-

Dean rolls over in bed and yawns, trying to slip into a coma. It's been awhile since he's gotten any sleep. His phone vibrates; ending all chance of slipping back into unconsciousness. Groggily he reaches over for the device and answers it. "Damn it, Cas, I need to sleep!" He yells into the phone, fully expecting the fallen angel to be on the other end.

"Dean, it's me." His brother's voice crackles through the speaker. "I'm putting us on three-way with Jamie."

A beat later Dean hears his sister's tired voice. "Sam?"

"Sam? It's quarter past four." He's crankier than usual. The lack of sleep is really cutting into him.

"Dean?" His sister asks, not missing a beat.

"I'm here, Jamie." He replies with a sigh.

"This is important." His brother insists.

On his sister's end something clatters to the floor. "Oh my God." She whispers, just loud enough for them to hear.

He heaves another sigh and turns the light on. While Sam talks he gets out of the bed and gets a beer out of the fridge. "So, you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?" He finally remarks.

"That's what he said."

He can't resist commenting on the irony of the situation. "Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?"

"So, that's it? That's your response?" Sam is annoyed, and Dean can't blame him, but he's not ready to forget everything that's happened just yet. That, and he needs a minute to process.

"What are you looking for?" He asks.

"I don't know. A—a little panic? Maybe?"

"I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point." He's just being honest.

Jamie clears her throat. He forgot for a moment that she was listening. "Well I'm panicking if that makes you feel better, Sam."

"Jamie." He waits for his brother to continue. "What's your role in all this? I mean narrating the apocalypse?" He had forgotten that Zachariah mentioned that, but clearly Sam did not. He's curious to hear the answer.

His sister sounds exhausted. Her voice is dulled. "Yeah. The good news is that Michael and Lucifer can't touch me, because regardless of who wins I'm neutral in this. The bad news is that makes me extremely important to both sides."

He figured it couldn't have been that simple. He hates that they're all tied up in all of this, and all in different ways. Still he can't help himself. "But you're in exile, Jamie. I thought that was supposed to free you."

She again doesn't miss a beat. "And it shall be written: the voice of one crying out in the desert shall emerge from exile to speak of the battle of between the Prince of Hosts and the Devil."

"So the prophet emerges from exile when the apocalypse begins." Sam states.

"Great." Is all he can say.

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"What do you want to do about it?" He shoots back, but he already knows what Sam has in mind.

"I want back in, for starters."

"Me too."

"Jamie, Sam—"

"I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches. I'm gonna hunt him down, Dean."

He rolls his eyes. Exactly what he expected. His brother hasn't moved on. Hasn't gotten the point. "Oh, so, we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time."

"Dean…" His sister warns, in that tone that's part scolding and reminds him of his mother, part yelling from his father, and part begging, the kind of begging only a little sister can manage to pull off.

"Not revenge. Redemption." His brother says.

"So, what, you're just gonna walk back in and we're gonna be the dynamic duo again?" He's being sarcastic, it's a defense mechanism really. "No offense Jamie." He adds quickly, to ensure his sister knows he hasn't forgotten her.

"None taken."

"Look, Dean, I can do this. I can. I'm gonna prove it to you."

He sighs. "Look, Sam—it doesn't matter—whatever we do. I mean, it turns out that you and me and Jamie, we're the, uh, the fire and the oil and the pyre of Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other for good." He really doesn't know what else to do at this point. He's running out of ideas, options, and time.

After a moment Jamie chimes in. "Maybe he's right, Sam." He knew she'd be on his side.

"No Jamie." His brother's tired and frustrated voice announces. "Dean, it does not have to be like this. We can fight it."

"Yeah, you're right. We can. But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam. I think we're weaker. Because whatever we have between us—love, family, whatever it is—they are always gonna use it against us. And you know that. You too, Jamie. Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways."

"Dean, don't do this." His brother begs.

"Dean." That tone again from his sister.

He's done discussing it. Done for the night. "Bye, Sam. Bye Jamie." He hangs up.

In the morning, the nightstand clock is smashed; when he answered his phone it was fine. He's also lying on the springs of the hotel bed; the mattress is gone. He gets up and looks around; the entire room is trashed. He looks out the window; so is the city. He doesn't understand what happened. He just knows something isn't right. So he leaves the hotel and takes a look around; the area is devastated, everything broken or graffitied on or both. Suddenly he hears something, like glass smashing. He goes to investigate.

The first sign of life Dean sees is a girl in an alley with a teddy bear. He approaches her slowly. "Little girl? Little girl?" She doesn't respond. "Are you hurt?" Another moment passes. Again no response. He draws closer. "You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?" Blood drips from the girl's mouth. Suddenly she shrieks and attacks Dean with a shard of glass. He flattens her and looks around, catching sight of a large piece of graffiti: it reads "CROATOAN". "Oh, crap."

Several people, all most likely infected with the Croatoan virus the same as the girl, come around the corner. He runs. They chase him onto a street blocked by a chain-link fence. Several soldiers on tanks arrive, shooting the infected people. A glass window shatters. One of the soldiers flicks a switch on an electronic device. Gunfire. Two more people fall. Several of the soldiers advance with gunfire. More fall. Dean stays under cover and retreats to an alley as the bodies continue to fall.

He spends the day dodging Croat infected people, as night falls he breaks through the fence. A sign on the fence reads:

CROATOAN  
VIRUS  
HOT ZONE  
NO ENTRY  
BY ORDER OF ACTING REGIONAL COMMAND  
AUGUST 1, 2014  
KANSAS CITY

"August 2014?" He asks outloud. Taking a moment to process, he spots a car nearby and hurries to hotwire it. He drives through the night. There is no cell service and only static on the radio. "That's never a good sign."

"Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia." Zachariah has arrived in the shotgun seat, startling Dean; he reads from a newspaper. "

"I thought I smelled your stink on this _Back to the Future_ crap."

Zachariah ignores him and continues to read. "President Palin defends bombing of Houston." Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum,if you ask me."

He looks at the road and then back to the angel. "How did you find me?"

"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out."

Dean thinks for a moment and then remembers the street preacher he encountered the day before. "The Bible freak outside the motel—he, what, dropped a dime on me?"

Zachariah smirks. "Onward, Christian soldiers."

He's pissed now. Not only as he been thrust through time, but he's got to be more careful in the future. "Okay, well, good, great. You have had your jollies. Now send me back, you son of a bitch."

"Oh, you'll get back—all in good time. We want you to marinate a bit."

Why doesn't he like the sound of that? "Marinate?"

"Three days, Dean. Three days to see where this course of action takes you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that your choices have consequences. This is what happens to the world if you continue to say "no" to Michael. Have a little look-see." The angel vanishes.

With no cell service he has no ability to contact his sister, nor does he have any idea where to start looking, so he starts with the place most familiar to him, most permanent. Bobby's house.

"Bobby? Bobby, I'm coming in!" He warns as he opens the door and steps inside. He looks around. The place is pretty thoroughly trashed, and from the spiderwebs and dust, no one has been around in a while. "Oh, no." Bobby's wheelchair is on its side. Dean sets it upright and sees the bullet holes through and dried blood on the back of the seat. His surrogate father is dead, then. "Where is everybody, Bobby?" He opens a hidden compartment and pulls out John's journal. He finds a photo of Bobby with Castiel, three men he doesn't know, and a sign. "Camp Chitaqua."

Dean approaches the sign from the photo. Men with guns are just inside the fence, patrolling. He's careful to stay out of sight. He catches sight of the Impala, smashed up and rusted to hell. "Oh, baby, no." His beloved ride is destroyed. He approaches the Impala for a better look at the damage, peering inside the driver's side door. "Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?" He whispers softly. He hears something and has barely turned to look when he is knocked out by his 2014 self, identified by the military-issue green jacket he is wearing instead of his blue shirt.

He wakes up slowly, and discovers he is handcuffed to a ladder. His future self is across the room cleaning a gun. He has another gun strapped to his leg. "What the hell?" He asks, staring at the future version of himself.

"I should be asking that question, don't you think? In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?" God he's a dick.

"Because you'd only be hurting yourself." He replies, trying to sound like a smartass.

"Very funny." His future self isn't buying it. Not that easily.

"Look, man—I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water—nothing. I almost brought Jamie in here to do her thing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?"

He sighs. "Zachariah."

His future self stands up. "Come again?"

He stares up at the alternate version. "I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."

The future Dean looks around. "Where is he? I want to talk to him."

"I don't know."

"Oh, you don't know." Back to being a dick.

"No, I don't know. Look, I just want to get back to my own friggin' year, okay?"

"Okay. If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."

He thinks, then smirks. "Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."

His future version is impressed. "Touché. So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?"

"I guess. Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?"

"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."

He isn't surprised, really. It makes a lot of sense. He pauses, remembering something his future version said earlier. "You said you almost brought Jamie in here. So our sister is alright?"

His future version smirks, looking over at him. "Yeah and still as feisty and stubborn as hell."

He doesn't want to ask, but he has to. He has to know. "What about Sam?"

The Dean from 2014 goes still. "Heavyweight showdown in Detroit." He finally says. "From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."

He doesn't know why he's shocked. "You weren't with him?"

"No. No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in—hell, five years."

"We never tried to find him?"

"We had other people to worry about."

He's still not totally convinced. He might understand his clone's reasons, but he doesn't believe for a minute that his sister abandoned their brother. "Jamie never tried to find him?"

He's quiet when he brings up Jamie. "Jamie had issues of her own." He says, as he gets up and walks towards the door.

"Where you going?"

"I got to run an errand."

"Whoa. You're just gonna leave me here?"

"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of _The Parent Trap_. So, yeah, you stay locked down."

"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?"

"No. Absolutely not." His doppelganger leaves.

"Dick." He mutters under his breath, and then pries a nail out of the floorboards and uses it to remove the handcuffs.

Dean glances around the camp. He sees Chuck coming towards him. "Hey, Dean. You got a second?"

"No—yes. Uh, I—I guess. Hi, Chuck."

"Hi. So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and—and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?"

"I—I don't know. Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz."

"Wait a minute. aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now?"

"Absolutely. And I will be."

"Uh-oh." Chuck is staring over his shoulder. He looks at Chuck and then turns around. A woman comes up behind Dean and tries to slug him.

"Whoa! Jeez! Easy, lady!" He ducks and hides behind Chuck.

"Risa."

"Risa?"

"You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?"

He has no remote idea about what she's talking about. "Uh, what? I—I don't—did I?" He turns to Chuck for help. He nods.

"I thought we had a 'connection'." She air-quotes the word.

"Well, I'm sure that we do." He says, trying to keep her from swinging at him again.

"Yeah?"

"Hi, Risa." Chuck says, trying to break the tension.

"Screw you." She storms away.

He sighs. "Oh, jeez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet."

"What?"

"Uh, never mind. Hey, Chuck, where's Jamie?"

"Probably with Cas"

He turns to look at Chuck. "...Cas still here?" He asks.

"Yeah. I don't think Cas is going anywhere."

He hurries off to find Castiel's cabin. He finds it quickly enough and goes inside. Castiel is sitting in a circle with several women. He immediately sees Jamie. She is standing off to the side, leaning against the wall with a book in her hands. Her hair is strawberry blonde and grown out, but most of it is braided back in a Lara Croft type deal. She's wearing a black tank top and a green military overshirt like his future self's with the sleeves rolled up her elbows, black cargos, a knife strapped to her waist, and a gun to her thigh also like his future self.

"So, in this way. We're each a fragment of total perception—just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind. Now, the key to this total, shared perception—it's, um, it's surprisingly physical." Castiel is explaining to the women. He looks up and spots DEAN. "Oh. Excuse me, ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?" His eyebrows shoot up at Castiel's last word. The women leave. "You're all so beautiful."

Jamie rolls her eyes, putting her book down. Castiel stands and stretches his back, grunting.

"What are you, a hippie?" Dean asks.

"I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me."

Jamie steps forward, into his line of sight. "Dean, what are you still doing here?"

He looks at Castiel and then at his sister. "Jamie, Cas, we got to talk."

"Whoa. Strange." Castiel takes a step back.

"What?"

"You...are not you. Not now you, anyway."

"No! Yeah. Yes, exactly."

"What year are you from?"

"2009." His sister answers, just as he's about to open his mouth. Some things haven't changed.

"What she said."

"Who did this to you? Is it Zachariah?" Castiel looks at him, interested.

"Yes."

"Interesting."

Jamie shakes her head. "Not really."

He glances at her and then at the angel. "Oh, yeah, it's friggin' fascinating. Now. Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar?"

Jamie scoffs, shaking her head.

"I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but I'm sorry, no dice." He explains.

"What, are you stoned?"

"Uh, generally, yeah." The angel replies, honestly.

He stares at him for a long moment, taking in his appearance, his manner, he is very different from the Castiel he knows. "What happened to you?" He finally asks.

Jamie looks up. "Same thing that happened to all of us."

"Life." The angel answers.

A car and a jeep arrive back in the camp. Future Dean and some soldiers climb out. Their Dean grabs two beers and tosses one to a soldier. They both open the beers and drink. Jamie runs up to her Dean and hugs him. He hugs her back and then pushes her behind him. He whispers in her ear and nods his head in the soldier's direction. She nods, frowning. He draws his gun and points it at that soldier. Dean comes out of the bushes.

"Hey. Hey! Watch out!" He yells in warning.

Future shoots the soldier. The others look between the two. "Damn it." Future Dean cusses. He addresses his men. "I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and him—It's a pretty messed-up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do."

Jamie gestures to the men. "You heard him, go on."

Future Dean shoves present Dean into the headquarters room. Jamie walks in and shuts the door behind them. "What the hell was that?" His future self demands.

"What the hell was that? You just shot a guy in cold blood." He yells back.

His future self is emotionless. "We were in an open quarantine zone. Got ambushed by some Croats on the way out." Dean's expression asks for an explanation. "Croats. Croatoans. One of them infected Yeager." At the mention of Croats Jamie walks over to her version of Dean and turns him towards her. He glances at him and then stares down at her and takes off his jacket. He whispers to her as she feels his chest and arms. "I'm fine, they didn't get close to me, okay." He puts his arms around her and hugs her close to him. He rubs her back as she digs her fists into his shoulder. Dean watches with knowing eyes, seeing the tenderness pass between the future versions of himself and his little sister, glad at least one thing hasn't change.

"How do you know?" He finally asks.

2014 Dean pulls back from Jamie and looks at him. "'Cause after a few years of this, I know. I started seeing symptoms about a half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news."

"'Troubling a good man'? You just blew him away in front of your own people. Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?"

Jamie sighs. "Dean, please try to understand. It's just the way things are now."

"The way things are?"

2014 Dean shakes his head. "It's 2014. Plugging some Croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my friggin' clone—that might have freaked them out a little."

"All right, look—"

"No, you look. This isn't your time. It's mine. You don't make the decisions. I do. So, when I say stay in, you stay in."

Jamie puts her hand on 2014 Dean's chest, pushing him back just a little. "Calm down." She whispers to him. Dean puts his hands up in surrender.

"All right, man. I'm sorry. Look, I—I'm not trying to mess you—me—us up here."

"I know." 2014 Dean walks over to the sink and pours three glasses of alcohol.

"It's just been a really wacky weekend."

"Tell me about it." He hands one glass to Jamie and sets the other two on the table. They drink.

He's curious now. "What was the mission, anyway?" 2014 Dean pulls out a gun; it's the Colt. Jamie's eyes light up. She smiles just a little. "The Colt?"

"The Colt."

"Where was it?"

"Everywhere. They've been moving it around. Took me five years, but...I finally got it. And tonight—tonight, I'm gonna kill the devil."

2014 Dean is leaning against the table. Jamie stands at his side, arms crossed tightly over her chest. On the other side Castiel puts his feet up. Risa is standing against the wall near Cas. Dean is sitting on the desk a few steps back.

Risa stares at the gun. "So, that's it? That's the Colt?"

The future version of Dean nods. "If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it."

"Great." Risa mutters, sarcastically. "Have we got anything that can _find_ Lucifer?"

Jamie raises her hand. 2014 Dean looks at his sister and then to Risa. "Are you okay?"

Dean grins. "Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night. And, apparently, we and...Risa have a connection."

His clone eyes him. "You want to shut up?" He raises his hands in surrender. Jamie snickers and shakes her head. "We don't have to find Lucifer. Jamie can sense where he is. But more than that, we know where he is. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."

"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?"

"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying."

"And you know this how?"

Castiel speaks up, looking over at Risa. "Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth."

Jamie looks at Dean and then groans softly. "Cas…"

He knows exactly what Castiel is taking about. "Torture? Oh, so, we're—we're torturing again." He gets flashbacks of Alistair tied to the devil's trap. Jamie looks at him, as does his future self. "No, that's—that's good. Classy."

Suddenly Castiel laughs. Jamie puts her hands on 2014 Dean's chest. The future Dean looks at him. "What? I like past you."

"If you're done…"2014 Dean spreads out a map. He points to a circled location. Jamie leans in and so does Castiel. "Lucifer is here. Now. I know the block and I know the building."

Jamie groans softly. "Oh, good—it's right in the middle of a hot zone."

"Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?"

Both Castiel and Jamie look at him. "Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?"

"Yes."

"Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe."

"Lay off it, Jamie."

She stares at her brother. "Dean."

He relents just a little. "Please." She sighs, and he touches her arm before looking at the fallen angel. "Are you you coming, Cas?"

Castiel sighs. "Of course. But why is he?" He gestures to Dean. "I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?"

"He's coming."

"Okay. Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving."

"Midnight." Jamie mutters.

2014 Dean nods. "We're loaded and on the road by midnight."

"All righty."

Castiel and Risa leave out the back door. Jamie crosses her arms again, sighing and looking away. 2014 Dean looks at her, frowning. He takes a step towards her and puts his hands on her arms. They share a look. Dean gets up. "Why are you taking me?"

2014 Dean looks over at him, and so does Jamie. "Relax. You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you, right?"

"No, that's not what I mean. I want to know what's going on." His future self is hiding something, and it makes him uneasy.

Jamie can't take it anymore. She stares at her version of her brother, her eyes flashing with anger. "Tell him, Dean. Tell him why I have to stay behind while you walk into a goddamn trap and get yourself killed."

"Jamie, we've been over this. You're the only one I trust to run things if something happens to me. And I'm not going to walk my baby sister right into something like this, either."

"This is my fight too."

"No it isn't. You're not the voice anymore, Jamie."

"And whose fault is that, Dean? This isn't about you, or me. He is my brother too." Dean looks shocked. "Tell him. Or I will."

2014 Dean turns to his past self. "Yeah, okay. You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother."

"Sam? I thought he was dead."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, he lied."

"Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'."

'Yes'? There's a long silence. Before Dean speaks again. "Wait. You mean—"

"Yes." Jamie nods, gripping 2014 Dean's hand.

"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom."

"Why would he do that?"

"Wish I knew. But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different."

He's looking at the ground now. It takes him a minute before he can ask another question. "What do you mean?" He's not sure he wants to know.

"Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To oh-nine?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when you get back home—you say 'yes'. You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."

"That's crazy."

"No, Dean. This is crazy. What's gonna happen tonight is crazy." Jamie tells him.

"If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."

2014 Dean takes a step forward. "Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat."

"So why don't you?" He shoots back.

"I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face!"

His sister nods. "The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up! All the prophets lost their gifts. It's too late for us, but for you—"

He refuses. "No. There's got to be another way."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes." His future self wraps his arm around his sister.

"For the love of God say yes." Jamie mutters.

There's a pause and then 2014 Dean speaks again. "But you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?"

2014 Dean hugs 2014 Jamie tightly. They're standing in front of the trucks, which are packed and ready to leave. Dean is watching them. His future self pulls back and looks at his sister before reaching into his pocket and hanging something around her neck. "If I fail-"

"Don't talk like that."

"If I fail, don't let him get to you. Don't let him find you. Understand? You run, and you keep running. Promise me."

"I promise." 2014 Dean leans and whispers into her ear. They hug again and then 2014 Dean pulls away and goes to his jeep. Jamie walks over to Dean. She's wearing Dean's amulet. "If you're not going to say yes, then let me back in. I want to help you hunt the devil."

Dean nods, and then turns to her. He looks her up and down. "So what happened to you?"

She gets a faraway look in her eyes. "Sam said yes. Our twin thing…when Sammy said yes, suddenly it didn't matter what Cas did, Lucifer could still see inside my head." She moves her hair away to reveal a scar. "I cracked my head open with a power drill…almost died…But it got rid of the bond with Sam. And 8 years of a lonely childhood in a convent, which is nice. I still have some of my psychic stuff, but I can't move things and I don't see much of the future anymore. Not that there's much to see."

"Remind me to never let you near tools."

"Yeah. Good luck." She gives him a quick hug and steps back.

"Thanks." He starts to walk away. Jamie looks up in his direction.

"Dean?"

He stops and turns back to her. "Yeah?"

She walks over to him and looks around before staring at him. "I uh…" She looks away again. "I lost a baby at the end of May in 2011. If you're not going to say yes, could you maybe not let me go after a nest of vampires?" After a moment Dean nods. "And could you please try not to get yourself killed? Your other self, I mean. He's all I have left."

"I'll try."

He leaves and Chuck walks up to him. "So, you're really from oh-nine?"

"Yeah, afraid so."

"Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. 'Cause it is."

He's not quite sure how to take that. "Thank you, Chuck."

"Oh, you'll thank me, all right. Mark my words."

"I'll see you around."

"Yeah. Okay."

He gets in one of the vehicles. They drive off. He's is riding shotgun in Castiel's car. Castiel takes out a bottle and pops the pills into his mouth.

"Let me see those." He grabs the bottle off the angel.

"You want some?"

"Amphetamines?"

"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe."

"Mmm. Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but—what's going on—w-with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?" Castiel laughs. "What's so funny?"

"Dean, I'm not an angel anymore."

"What?"

"Yeah, I went mortal."

"What do you mean? How?"

"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of— psshhew!—drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So, you're human. Well, welcome to the club."

Castiel chuckles. "Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then that's, that's just how I roll."

He remembers what Jamie told him before he left and looks at Castiel curiously. "Those gongs include my sister?"

Castiel stops smiling and frowns a little. "She had certain feelings for me at one point, but…nothing really came from it."

"Didn't stop me from beating the hell out of you, did it?"

"Unfortunately not."

He grins a little and then frowns. "She really tried to off herself?"

"She was lost and you couldn't help her. The child she carried…it meant a great deal to her."

He blinks, realizing that Jamie lied to him. He nods to himself. "I'll remember that."

Dean, 2014 Dean, Castiel, Risa, and other soldiers walk into the hot zone, carrying guns and scanning the area. 2014 Dean leads them to the mental institution. "There. Second-floor window. We go in there."

"You sure about this?" Risa asks him.

"They'll never see us coming. Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five."

"Hey, uh, me. Can I talk to you for a sec?" 2014 Dean goes to the side with his past self. "Tell me what's going on."

"What?"

"I know you. You're lying to these people and to me."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror. Now, there's something you're not telling us."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, really? Well, I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions, so, uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them." He starts to move towards the group. His future self stops him.

"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait."

"What?"

"Take a look around you, man. This place should be white-hot with Croats. Where are they?"

"They cleared a path for us. Which means that this is—"

"A trap. Exactly. Never doubt Jamie, ever."

"Yeah. Well, then we can't go through the front."

"Oh, we're not. They are. They're the decoys. You and me, we're going in through the back."

It dawns on him. "You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?" His future self looks away. "Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make."

The future version of himself stares right at him. "Why do you think I left Jamie behind?"

"Was it protect her or so you wouldn't have sacrifice her too?" He shoots back. "I wouldn't sacrifice my friends."

"You're right. You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually."

"These people count on you. They trust you."

"They trust me to kill the devil and to save the world and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

Dean shakes his head. "No. Not like this, you're not. I'm not gonna let you. I promised Jamie I'd get you home safe. "

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

2014 Dean slugs his past self.

Dean wakes up on the ground. He hears gunfire in the building and runs toward it. Thunder crashes, lightning flashes, and he sees his future self on the ground, neck held down by someone wearing a white shoe. 2014 Dean opens his eyes and sees his past self. The shoe shifts his weight; 2014 Dean's neck audibly breaks. It's Lucifer in Sam's body. He turns around and sees Dean. "Oh. Hello, Dean." He stares at Lucifer. "Aren't you a surprise." Thunder and lightning; Lucifer is now behind him. "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

He doesn't turn. "Well, go ahead. Kill me."

"Kill you?" He looks at the corpse of 2014 Dean. "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" Lucifer sighs. "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be." He reaches for Dean's shoulder. Dean moves back. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?"

The devil examines a rose, but turns away. "Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God." Dean doesn't answer. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"

He groans. "Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile."

"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." Lucifer smirks. "You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are."

"What am I?"

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego."

The devil smiles. "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon." He turns to walk away.

"You better kill me now!"

Lucifer turns back around. "Pardon?"

"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And if I don't, Jamie will."

"Jamie?" Lucifer chuckles. "Oh yes, her. The Voice crying out in the desert. Only no longer. I silenced Jamie a long time ago." Dean grits his teeth together.

"She will kill you."

"She can't. She's not strong enough anymore. Out of curiosity did she tell you who the father of her baby was? I do hope you've guessed already, figured out why she was so inconsolable afterwards. I sent the vamps, you know. The second I knew her womb was fruitful, I baited her with a nestful of them. I wasn't going to chance a new vessel being born. The child of Jamie and-"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up! I will find a way. I won't stop."

"I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. I know you won't kill Sam. And I know Jamie's loyalty lies with you before anything else. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win."

"You're wrong."

"See you in five years, Dean."

Thunder and lightning; Lucifer is gone. Dean turns around and sees Zachariah behind him, reaching for his forehead with two fingers.

Dean leans against the kitchenette sink. Zachariah stands in front of him. "Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you."

"Enough. Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes."

"How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks? Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?"

"The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die." He considers this for a long moment, turning away from the angel. "Nah."

"'Nah'? You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?"

"Oh, I've learned a lesson, all right. Just not the one you wanted to teach."

"Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you—" Dean disappears. "Son of a..."

Dean is now standing at the side of the road. He turns around and sees Castiel. "That's pretty nice timing, Cas."

"We had an appointment."

Dean puts a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Don't ever change."

"How did Zachariah find you?"

"Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?"

Dean pulls out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done in the first place."

Dean waits by the Impala at a bridge. Another car pulls up. Sam gets out. A truck approaches and Jamie gets out. The siblings approach each other.

"Sam. Jamie." Dean greets his siblings.

"Cas is waiting for me." Jamie tells him. "I can't stay here long."

"It's alright. It's alright, Jamie. You're a sister, and you are apart of this too now."

She nods. "I'm in exile, for now."

Dean chuckles. "What I'm trying to say is, don't stay away. Not for long anyway. Help us hunt the devil."

"When we find a way to kill the devil, I'll be by your side."

They hug.

"And you." He turns to Sam and pulls out Ruby's knife. Sam looks at it nervously. Dean holds it out to him, handle first. "If you're serious and you want back in...you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty." He takes the knife. He can't meet Dean's eyes. "Look, man, I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh—wrong."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Long story. The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human."

"Thank you. Really. Thank you. I won't let you down." He looks at Jamie. "Either of you."

Jamie smiles.

"Oh, I know it. I mean, you are the second…"He pauses and looks at Jamie. "or third best hunter on the planet."

Sam nods. "So, what do we do now?"

Jamie looks up. "Call Cas."

"Right, and then we make our own future."

"Guess we have no choice."

"No. But we're in this together." Jamie holds her hand out. Dean and Sam put their hands over hers.


	25. 510 Abandon All Hope

Jamie walks in the door to Bobby's and sees Ellen, Jo, and Castiel. She nods to them and then walks over to Bobby. "Hey."

Bobby turns to look at her. "Hey. Long time no see."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Aaron and I have had our hands full."

Bobby smirks. "He's finally speaking to you again?"

"Yeah, he decided that even though I got his father, his brother, and his brother's best friend killed, and I'm the sister of the guy who jumpstarted the apocalypse, I'm still the best damn exorcist and vampire slayer in country."

Bobby snickers. "Yeah well that's only because you learned from the best."

"Imagine what I'd be like if you and Dad raised me the way you raised Dean and Sam." There's a hint of sadness in Bobby's eyes. Jamie pauses for a moment. "Speaking of…"

Bobby hands her a beer and nods toward the other room. Jamie goes to join her brothers.

Ellen and Castiel are sitting at a table. Five full shot glasses in a row next to a row of three upside-down shot glasses, a gap, and a full shot glass. Another glass is placed upside-down in the gap. Jo drinks from a beer bottle. Ellen drains the fifth and puts it back upside-down. "All right, big boy."

"Well." He drains all five of his in a row. Ellen stares. "I think I'm starting to feel something."

Jo gawks and grins.

Sam and Dean are sitting at opposite sides of Bobby's desk and Jamie is standing beside Dean, all with beer bottles. There's several books and papers on the desk. "Where the hell have you been?" Dean asks his sister.

"Hunting, and hunting down God for Castiel."

"We've been looking all over for you." Sam tells her.

Jamie smirks. "Heh, haven't you learned by now that I'll find you before you find me?"

Dean looks at her. "We're supposed to stick together."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, Zach has it out for me almost as badly as he has it out for you. It's better this way. Besides, I'm here now." She takes one of the books and looks through it.

"Anyway." Sam gestures to the paper under his hand. "It's gotta be a trap, right?"

Dean looks up and grins. "Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon."

"Lay off him." Jamie smacks Dean with a stack of papers and grins.

Dean laughs, batting playfully at Jamie. "Well, better late than never."

"Thank you again for your continued support."

"You're welcome."  
"You two…" The siblings clink bottles and drink.

Dean looks between his brother and sister, getting quieter. "You know, trap or no trap, we got a snowball's chance, we gotta take it, right?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, I suppose."

"I'm not sure it is a trap. Check it out. I mean, Carthage is lit up like a Christmas tree with Revelation omens. And look at this." Jamie pushes some papers at Dean and Sam.

Dean looks down at the paper and then at Sam. "There's been six missing persons reported, in town, since Sunday."

"I think the devil's there." Jamie crosses her arms.

"Okay." Sam says, taking another sip of his beer.

Dean looks down. "Look, when you think about it...you can't come with."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean."

"Jamie, you either. The last thing we need is a prophet in tow."

Jamie is in the middle of taking another drink. She gulps and stares at Dean. "Prophetess in Exile!"

Dean sighs. "Look, I go against Satan and screw the pooch, okay. We've lost a game piece. That we can take. But Sam if you're there, then we are handing the devil's vessel right over to him. And Jamie, we're giving the angels an excuse to walk right in. That's not smart."

"Since when have we ever done anything smart?" Jamie and Sam say at the same time.

"I'm serious, guys."

Jamie blinks. "So are we."

Sam nods. "Haven't we learned a damn thing? If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it together." He holds Dean's gaze.

The siblings look at each other for a long moment. Dean looks away first. "Okay. But it's a stupid frigging idea." He looks past Sam, attention caught by Castiel, Ellen, and Jo. Sam and Jamie look too.

"Boy, talk about stupid ideas." Sam mutters.

"Yeah, no kidding." Jamie gets up and goes over to Castiel. Castiel looks up at her. She leans against the table beside him with her beer. "Just curious, Cas. How do you feel about…"

Castiel looks up at her, holding one of the shot glasses. "Prophetess…Jamie, if you're inviting me into your bed, it would be more appropriate to offer me more alcohol first." Jamie chuckles and pours Castiel and herself a shot of liquor.

Dean overhears them and snickers. "Good God. True, that." He gets up and goes over to the refrigerator, where Jo is rummaging. She turns around and he is standing right there. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So. Dangerous mission tomorrow. Guess it's time to eat, drink, and, you know, make merry."

Jo looks at him suspiciously. "Are you giving me the last-night-on-earth speech?"

"What?"

"What?"

"No." They laugh. "If I was, would, uh, would that work?"

Jo leans in for a kiss, but stops at the last moment. "No. Sweetheart, if this is our last night on earth, then I'm going to spend it with a little thing I call self-respect." She laughs and leaves.

"If you're into that kind of thing." Dean mutters, looking over at Castiel and Jamie. Jamie is leaning against him and they are drinking. Bobby's voice startles him.

"Everybody get in here! It's time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner." He calls.

Sam walks in first, then Ellen. "Oh come on, Bobby. Nobody wants their picture taken." She tells him.

"Hear, hear." Sam agrees.

Bobby rolls his eyes. "Shut up. You're drinking my beer."

"Your beer sucks, uncle Bobby." Jamie tells him with a grin as she pulls Castiel into the room.

Bobby looks up. "Yeah, yeah. I thought Prophets were suppose to abstain from alcohol."

"That's nazirites." Castiel tells him.

Bobby finishes fiddling with a camera on a tripod and rolls his wheelchair back. "Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by."

Dean and Jo finally enter the room and gets in position for the picture, smiling. "Ha! Always good to have an optimist around." Ellen remarks.

Castiel frowns. "Bobby's right. Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on earth."

The smiles disappear. "Cas, you're such a buzz kill." Jamie mutters under her breath. The camera flashes.

Later that night Sam and Dean are asleep in the study. Castiel is standing against the wall. Jamie walks into the study barefoot, wearing a black leather jacket, and a see-through black gown. Her hair is down in soft waves. Castiel's jaw drops slightly when he sees her. She puts a finger to her lips and grabs his hands. They slip out the door into the night. "Teleport us into the backseat of the Impala."

Castiel looks troubled. "Won't Dean be upset?"

"What Dean doesn't know won't hurt him. Come on." They appear in the Impala's back seat and Jamie moves on top of Castiel. He leans in and kisses her. She kisses him back and pushes his trench coat off. He pushes off her leather jacket and she shivers, bare shouldered.

"Are you cold?" Jamie nods. Cas starts put her jacket back on up she stops him.

"No. You warm me up."

"How?" Jamie moves Castiel's arms around her, bringing his body close to hers. They continue to kiss, and then Jamie pulls away and undoes Cas's shirt. He pulls it off and leans in and kisses her. She moves his hand unto her thigh and he rubs his hand up and down.

Missing posters are tacked to a telephone pole all over the town. The Impala drives in followed by another car; visible behind them is a billboard that says "ANTI-GOD IS ANTI-AMERICAN" on an American-flag background, next to a sign that advertises "ADULT VIDEOS". Dean, Jamie, and Sam all have hands out the windows, phones in hand. "You getting a signal?" Sam asks, turning back to his twin.

Jamie shakes her head. "Not even a blimp. Dean?"

"No, nothing. Nice and spooky." He waves the other car up next to him. Ellen is driving, Jo is riding shotgun.

"Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen asks.

Dean nods. "We're gonna go check out the PD. You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody."

She nods. "Okay."

Jamie sticks her head out of the window. "You guys be careful!" She yells as Dean drives off. He pulls in front of the station and they get out and check around, all three pulling out their handguns. "Okay, the lack of inhabitants is really friggin creepy." Jamie's eyes dart around. Sam goes on ahead of them, Dean hangs back with their sister.

"Yeah. You getting anything?" Dean asks, glancing back at his sister.

"No. And that makes it even more unsettling." Jamie brushes against a table. "Wait." She closes her eyes.

Sam walks back towards them. "Place is completely deserted."

"This place is." Jamie says opening her eyes. "The town isn't. We need to get back to Ellen and Jo. Now." She hurries out to the Impala, Dean and Sam follow her.

They drive back to where Ellen and Jo are parked. "Station's empty." Dean tells them.

Jo nods. "So's everything else."

"Have you seen Cas?" Ellen asks.

Sam and Dean look at each other and then at Ellen. "What? He was with you." Sam says.

Jamie's eyes widen. She swallows hard. "He's gone."

Ellen nods. "He went after the-"

"Reapers." Jamie finishes.

Dean's eyes widen. "Reapers?"

Sam leans in. "He saw reapers? Where?"

Jo looks at the boys. "Well, kind of…"

"Everywhere." Jamie mutters. The Winchesters look at each other. Jamie grabs the door handle and gets out. Everyone else follows her lead, arming themselves with shotguns. They walk down the street.

Dean sucks his breath in sharply, looking around. "Well, this is great, been in town twenty minutes and already lost the angel up our sleeve."

Sam looks at his brother. "You think, uh, you think Lucifer got him?"

Dean glances behind him at his sister. "Jamie?" Jamie nods. "I was afraid of that."

Jamie grabs Dean's jacket. "Heads up boys, we have company."

Sam stops and looks at her. "Company?"

"There you are." Everyone turns to face the new threat.

"Meg." Sam sneers.

Meg shakes her head. "Shouldn't have come here, boys."

"Hell, I could say the same thing for you." Dean aims the Colt at Meg.

Jamie tightens her grip on her brother. "Dean, wait."

Meg grins. "Didn't come here alone, Deano."

Something splashes in a puddle near Meg's feet; the sounds of dogs growling and barking. Jamie swallows hard and looks at Dean. Sam, Ellen, and Jo glance around for the source of the noise, so does Dean, but he is obviously pretending he's not afraid. Jamie pulls Dean closer to her and gestures with her gun. A look passes between them.

"Hellhounds." His voice almost shakes.

"Yeah, Dean. Your favorite. Come on, boys. My father wants to see you." Meg tells them.

"I think we'll pass, thanks." Sam tells her.

"Your call. You can make this easy or you can make it really, really hard."

Dean looks back; Ellen nods. Jamie loosens her grip just a little.

"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Meg shakes her head. Dean shifts his aim and fires; blood spurts from the hellhound next to Meg's feet.

"Run! Now." Jamie yells, readjusting her grip on Dean.

"Run!" Sam repeats.

They take off. A hellhound tackles Dean. Jo and Jamie stop and look back.

"Dean!" Jo calls.

"Dean, no!" Jamie yells.

"Jo, Jamie, stay back!" Dean tells them.

Jamie takes a few steps toward Dean and waves her hand, trying to fling the hellhound back. "Jo, shoot! They're immune to my power." Jamie holds her shotgun up. Jo fires her shotgun in Dean's direction. Jamie fires beside her. Ellen and Sam stop running. Jamie fires again and runs to Dean. Jo keeps firing, knocking the hellhound further and further back. Sam and Ellen start running towards Jo, Jamie, and Dean. Another hellhound gets Jo from the side. Jamie pulls Dean up and turns to Jo. "Jo!" Jamie fires.

"No!" Ellen yells.

The hellhound shreds Jo's side. Sam and Ellen start firing. Dean scoops up Jo and he and Jamie run past Sam and Ellen, who turn to follow. Dean heads for one of the nearest stores, Ellen goes ahead to open the door, and Sam and Jamie stay back to keep shooting.

Dean leans Jo against the counter; she's whimpering. "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, breathe now—" Ellen tells her daughter, trying not to panic.

Sam and Jamie chain the doors shut. "Okay." Sam takes a breath. Jamie turns wide eyes to her twin.

"Need some help here!" Jamie rushes over to Ellen and Jo. Sam and Dean grab bags of rock salt.

"Go go go—" They slit the bags open and frantically line the doorway and windows. Ellen peels Jo's hand away from the injury; it spurts blood. Jamie takes off her jacket and rips up her blouse, leaving her in just an undershirt. She puts the pieces of her shirt against Jo's wound. Sam and Dean stare and Ellen looks over her shoulder at them, horrified.

Later, Jo has been bandaged up. Jamie is holding her hand. "Gonna be all right." Sam hands a bowl to Ellen. "Thank you."

He nods and goes over to Dean, who is fiddling with something electronic. "How's she holding up?" He asks.

Sam doesn't say anything for a long moment and then avoids the question. "Salt lines are holding up."

Dean nods. "Safe for now."

Sam scoffs. "Safer. Trapped like rats."

"Hey, you heard Meg. Her father's here. This is our one shot, Sammy. We gotta take it, no matter what." Sam doesn't say anything. "Here we go." Dean mutters, looking down at what he was fiddling with.

"Sam, some help here, please?" Ellen asks.

Dean's gadget squeals. He gets the radio to work and tries to call Bobby. "K C 5 Fox Delta Oscar, come in."

"K C 5 Fox Delta Oscar, go ahead." Bobby responds a few seconds later.

"Bobby, it's Dean. We got problems."

Bobby sighs. "It's okay, boy. That's why I'm here. Is everyone all right?"

Dean pauses. "No. It's—it's—it's Jo. Bobby, it's pretty bad."

"Okay. Copy that. So now we figure out what we do next."

"Bobby, I don't think she's—" He breaks off.

"I said, what do we do next, Dean?"

Dean leans his head on his hand for a moment. "Right. Okay, right."

"Now, tell me what you got." Dean explains what happened to Bobby. "Before he went missing, did Cas say how many reapers?"

Dean sighs. "I don't—he said a lot of things, I guess. Does the number matter?"

"Devil's in the details, Dean. Ask Jamie, she probably has an idea."

Jamie is whispering to Ellen. Ellen gets up and taps Dean on the shoulder with one bloody hand. Dean holds up the microphone. "Bobby, it's Ellen. Jamie just told me she can't hold the vision long enough to count them all. The way Castiel was looking, the number of places his eyes went, I'd say we're talking over a dozen reapers off the top of my head, and Jamie swears it's probably more."

"I don't like the sound of that." Bobby replies.

"Nobody likes the sound of that, Bobby, but what—wh—what does that sound like?" Dean asks.

"Death." Jamie mutters. She gets up and goes over to Dean and Ellen.

"It sounds like death, son. I think Satan's in town to work a ritual. I think he's planning to unleash Death."

Dean holds the microphone up to Jamie. "I think you're right, Bobby."

Dean looks at his sister. "You mean, like, as in this dude and taxes are the only sure thing?"

"As in Death…" Bobby starts.

"The horseman." Jamie finishes. "The pale rider in the flesh."

"Unleash? I mean, hasn't Death been tromping all over the place? Hell, I've died several times myself."

"Not this guy. This is—"

"This is the angel of death."

"Jamie's right. Big daddy reaper. They keep this guy chained in a box six hundred feet under. Last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat. That's why the place is crawling with reapers. They're waiting on the big boss to show."

"You two have any other good news?" Dean mutters.

"In a manner of speaking." Bobby tells him.

Jamie blinks, seeing a book with the title "The Battle of Carthage." "Carthage, Bobby?" She asks.

"Exactly. I've been researching Carthage since you've been gone, trying to suss out what the devil might want there. What you just said drops the last piece of the puzzle in place."

Jamie blinks again. "The angel of death must be brought into this world at midnight through a place of awful carnage."

"Now, back during the Civil War, there was a battle in Carthage. A battle so intense the soldiers called it the Battle of Hellhole."

Dean looks at his sister and then to the microphone. "Where'd the massacre go down?"

"On the land of William Jasper's farm." Bobby and Jamie both reply.

"That's my girl, you're okay, honey—" Jo looks no better. Ellen and Jamie are next to her. Dean and Sam are several feet away.

"Now we know where the devil's gonna be, we know when, and we have the Colt." Dean tells his brother.

Sam nods. "Yeah. We just have to get past eight or so hellhounds and get to the farm by midnight."

Jamie looks back at her brothers. "Yeah, and that's after we get Jo and Ellen the hell out of town."

"Won't be easy." Sam mutters. "We need something stable to move her on."

"Stretcher?" Dean asks.

"I'll see what we got." Sam turns to go looking.

"Stop. Guys, stop." Jo says. Ellen looks between the boys, Jamie, and Jo. "Can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?" Dean and Sam walk over to Jo. "Uh! I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in by half of Jamie's shirt and an ace bandage. We gotta—we gotta get our priorities straight here." The Winchester siblings look at each other and at Jo. "Number one, I'm not going anywhere."

"Jo…" Jamie says softly.

"Joanna Beth, you stop talking like that." Ellen demands.

"Mom. I can't fight. I can't walk. But I can do something. We got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails, everything we need."

Sam looks at her. "Everything we need?"

"To build a bomb, Sam."

Dean's jaw drops realizing what Jo has in mind. "No. Jo, no."

"You got another plan? You got any other plan? Those are hellhounds out there, Dean. They've got all of our scents. Those bitches will never stop coming after you. We let the dogs in, you guys hit the roof, make a break for the building next over. I can wait here with my finger on the button, rip those mutts a new one. Or at least get you a few minutes' head start, anyway."

"No, I—I won't let you."

"This is why we're here, right?" Ellen shakes her head, crying. "If I can get us a shot on the devil—Dean, we have to take it."

Jo looks at Jamie and presses her hand against Jamie's face. Jamie closes her eyes. "Damnit. Damnit. She's right. I see it." She opens her eyes. "I see it going down like she says." She looks at Ellen.

"No!" Ellen looks up at Dean. "That's not—"

"Mom. This might literally be your last chance to treat me like an adult. Might wanna take it?" Jo is smiling. Ellen starts sobbing.

"You heard her. Get to work."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean grab their materials and assemble the bombs, filling them with nails and rock salt for shrapnel. Night has fallen. Jamie goes over and sits beside Jo. She leans in. "You're my sister, you know. I'm damn happy that we've hunted together."

Jo nods. "You're mine too. Take care of them, Jamie. Especially Dean." Jamie nods, squeezing her hand.

Sam goes over them. Jamie moves away and Sam takes Jo's hand for a minute while Dean strings the wire to the button Jo will hold. "Okay, this is it. I'll see you on the other side. Probably sooner than later."

"Make it later." Dean puts the button in Jo's hand and holds on. Jo is crying. Dean kisses her once on the forehead, once on the lips, and leans their heads together for a moment before getting up. Ellen comes back to sit by Jo. They watch each other for a moment and Ellen smiles. "Mom, no."

"Somebody's gotta let them in. Like you said, you're not moving. You got me, Jo. And you're right, this is important." Jo nods. "But I will not leave you here alone." Ellen looks at Dean, Sam, and Jamie. "Get going now, boys, Jamie."

"Ellen—" Dean starts to protest.

"I said go." Sam looks at Dean and Jamie. Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm. They all start to walk away. "And Dean?" He looks back. "Kick it in the ass. Don't miss."

Dean nods. He, Jamie and Sam head for their exit. Ellen unchains the doors as they leave. Jamie runs across the fire escape, Sam and Dean right behind, then Jamie goes down the ladder and her brothers follow. They hurry down the alley. The hardware store explodes. Dean, Jamie, and Sam stop to watch it blow. Jamie steps in front of them. "Run boys. Now." Sam and Dean grab unto Jamie and they all run.

They make it to the field and sneak through bushes. Dozens of Men stand in the field, attention on something out of sight. Jamie winces softly. "Son of a bitch."

"Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople." Dean says.

"Okay." Sam looks at the siblings.

"Okay." Dean echos.

"Okay." Jamie nods.

"Last words?"

Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie smirks. Dean turns to Sam for a moment. "I think I'm good."

"Yeah. Me too." Sam agrees.

Jamie sighs. "Me three. Let's do this."

"Here goes nothing." Dean mutters.

Lucifer is filling a hole. "Hey!" Sam approaches him, readying a shotgun. The devil turns, dropping the shovel. "You wanted to see me?"

Lucifer grins. "Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here. You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."

"Yeah? Well, I'd hurt you." Dean points the gun at Lucifer, point-blank to the forehead. Jamie stands behind him. "So suck it." He fires. Lucifer collapses. None of the men do anything. Dean, Jamie, and Sam watch the corpse for a minute. Lucifer inhales and shifts position.

"No." Jamie says, shocked. She steps in front of Dean.

"Owww..." The devil stands up. Sam is horrified. He and Dean shove Jamie behind them. "Where did you get that?" He punches DEAN, who flies into a tree, and then looks at Jamie. "Hello Prophetess."

Sam puts his arm up to protect her. Jamie takes shorts breaths, steeling her shoulders. "And it shall be written, they shall strike down at the son of perdition…"

Lucifer waves his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. Now run to your precious brother." Sam watches Jamie run to Dean and turns back to Lucifer. "Now, where were we? Don't feel too bad, Sam. There's only five things in all of creation that that gun can't kill, and I just happen to be one of them. But if you give me a minute, I'm almost done." He picks up the shovel and moves two scoops of dirt. Sam hurries over to Dean and Jamie. Jamie is feeling the pulse on Dean's neck.

"He's alive, he's just knocked out."

"You know, I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Lucifer calls to Sam. Sam stands up. "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"

"It's never gonna happen!"

Lucifer goes back to filling his hole. "Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit. You can ask your sister if you don't believe me."

Sam's eyes dart in Jamie's direction but he doesn't look at her. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!"

"That's good, Sam. You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it."

Sam visibly calms. He looks around at the men, who are still doing nothing. "What did you do? What did you do to this town?"

"Oh, I was very generous with this town. One demon for every able-bodied man."

"And the rest of them?"

Lucifer pauses. Jamie winces out loud. "In there. I know, it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucifer drops the shovel. Jamie looks at Sam, starting to get up. "I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael—Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar? Anyway. You'll have to excuse me. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish. Don't go anywhere. Not that you could if you would."

Sam goes back to Dean and Jamie. Jamie glances at Lucifer and then looks at Sam, whispering. "Sam, he's going to release Death. We have to stop him."

"How?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know. If the Colt can't kill Lucifer…"

"Then only Michael can stop him." The twins stare at each other. "Can you summon him?"

"Are you crazy…" Jamie pauses. "No you're desperate." She looks down at Dean and then up at the sky. She stands up and holds her arms out. "Sancta Michael archangele defende nos in proelio contra necquitam et insidas diabolica esto praesidium. Imperat illi Deus supplices deprecamur, tuque Princeps militiae coelestits, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude!"

Lucifer chuckles, looking over at them. "That would have been a cool trick. Even for you, Jamie. But Michael has no vessel to enter by. My advice, stop while you're still breathing."

Jamie glares at him. Lucifer turns to his hole and chants, then turns to his demons. "Now repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, souls."

Dean stirs. Sam and Jamie help him up.

"We offer up our lives, blood, souls."

"To complete this tribute."

"To complete this tribute."

One by one the Demons flash gold and fall over, dead. Sam, Jamie, and Dean stare. Lucifer looks at them. "What? They're just demons." He stares at the mass grave. Sam stares at him. Dean and Jamie glance between them. The ground rumbles. Castiel appears next to the Winchesters and holds a finger to his lips. Lucifer turns and all four are gone. He walks forward. "Oh, hello, Death."

Back at Bobby's the glasses from Ellen and Castiel's drinking competition are still on the table. The TV is on, showing a tornado; the captions read "STATE OF EMERGENCY, Paulding County" and "KOUA 16".

"Just received an update that the governor has declared a state of emergency for Paulding County, including the towns of Marion, Fetterville, and Carthage. The storm system has reportedly touched off a number of tornadoes in the area." Sam, Jamie, Dean, and Bobby are gathered around the fireplace. Bobby holds a copy of the photograph taken the night before. Jamie grips Bobby's shoulder with one hand. With the other she has a fistful of Dean's shirt. Sam has his arms around her shoulders. Dean rests on hand on Sam's shoulder and the other on Bobby's chair. "Death tolls have yet to be estimated, but state officials expect the loss of life and property to be staggering." Bobby leans forward and drops the picture into the flames. He, Dean, Jamie, and Sam watch it burn.

Jamie is lying on Bobby's couch, Sam and Dean are on the floor. They're covered with blankets. The fire is still going in the background. "Why'd you try to summon Michael?" Dean asks.

"I panicked." Jamie tells him.

Sam sighs. "We were desperate, I guess."

"Or stupid." Dean mutters.

"Yeah."

Jamie looks up at the ceiling. "Not like he could have done anything without a vessel."

Dean nods. "Right."

"I would have said yes, if I could have, in that field tonight." She says. Dean and Sam look at her. "I would have said yes to Michael to stop Lucifer from raising Death." She turns and looks at her brothers. "What the hell does that say about me?" Her brothers don't answer, instead they just look at her.


	26. 513 The Song Remains the Same

It's night inside the motel room. Castiel is drawing a symbol in chalk on a table while Sam sits on the far bed and Dean paces. All three of them look concerned. Jamie walks in carrying some stuff. She sets the bag down on the table and Castiel pulls things out.

"Really? Anna? I don't believe it." Dean finally says.

Jamie picks up her jacket from the bed and puts it on. "Believe it." She tells him.

"It's true." Castiel echoes.

Dean looks slightly amused. "So she's gone all Glenn Close, huh? That's awesome."

Castiel straightens up, confused. "Who's Glenn Close?"

Dean walks over nearer Sam. Jamie follows him. "No one, just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

Sam looks up. "So the plan to kill me, would it actually stop Satan?"

Both his siblings immediately turn to him. "Sammy." Jamie whispers.

"No, Sam, come on." Dean tells him.

Sam glances at them and then at the angel. "Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?"

Dean and Jamie turn to look at Castiel. Castiel swallows uncomfortably, looking at each of the siblings. "No. She's, uh, Glenn Close."

Sam looks down. Dean walks over to the table. "I don't get it. We're looking for the chick that wants to gank Sam. Why poke the bear?"

"Anna will keep trying. She won't give up until Sam is dead. So we kill her first." Castiel pours an oil into a bowl sitting on the table. He begins to chant in Enochian. The bowl shoots red flame. Castiel steps away from the table and leans on the back of a chair, eyes closed and breathing heavily. Sam, Jamie, and Dean look at him, worried. He looks up at them.

"He got her." Jamie breathes, as if in relief.

"Where is she?" Dean asks.

"Not where." Castiel says as he straightens up. "When."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Nineteen seventy-eight?"

"What?" Sam stands and joins Dean and Jamie. "Why nineteen seventy-eight? I wasn't even born yet."

"You won't be if she kills your parents."

"That bitch!" Jamie whirls around, staring around in anger.

"What?" Sam looks between Castiel and Jamie.

Castiel walks over to them and Jamie turns back around. Dean puts his hand on her shoulder. "Anna can't get to you because of me. So she's going after them."

Dean presses his mouth into a thin line. "Take us back right now." He demands.

Jamie nods. "Now, Cas. Do it."

"And deliver you right to Anna? I should go alone." He argues.

"No way!" Jamie tells him.

Dean nods in agreement. "They're our parents. Cas, we're going."

"It's not that easy." Castiel backs away from them.

"Why not?" Sam asks.

Jamie sighs, crossing her arms. "He's worried he might not have the strength."

"Time travel was difficult even with the powers of heaven at my disposal."

"Which got cut off."

"So. what, you're like a Delorean without enough plutonium?"

"I don't understand that reference."

Jamie scoffs. "Just go with it, Cas."

Castiel looks at her. "I'm telling you, taking this trip, with passengers no less." He shakes his head. "It'll weaken me."

Dean walks up to him and stares at him, holding his gaze. "They're our mom and dad. If we can save them, and not just from Anna. I mean if we can set things right. We have to try."

"Cas, please. Trust us?" Jamie begs.

Castiel shakes his head.

Later Castiel and Jamie are packing a duffel bag. Castiel puts in two ceramic jars of oil and Jamie hands him his angel-killing knife. "Ready?" He asks, turning to look at Sam and Dean.

Sam takes the bag from him and swings it up on his shoulder. "Not really."

"Breath." Jamie tells him.

"Bend your knees." Dean says.

Sam ducks down a little as Castiel touches their foreheads with his fingers.

A second later Sam, Jamie, and Dean are in the middle of the street. They look around and a car horn honks: the car comes to a stop inches from them. "Get out of the street!"

The siblings head for the sidewalk and another car nearly runs them over. They get to safety between two parked cars, Sam waving awkwardly at the second moving car. "Did we make it?" He asks, glancing back at his siblings.

Jamie looks up. "Well I can't see. That usually means something."

Dean points at one of the cars, then scans the area. "Unless they're bringing Pintos back into production, I, uh, I'd say yes."

"Cas."

Dean turns to where Jamie is looking and spots Castiel collapsed against the nearest car, his nose bleeding. Sam sees him too. "Cas?"

They hurry over to him.

"Hey."

"Easy."

"Hey, hey, hey."

Dean looks over him. "Take it easy. Take it easy. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm much better than I expected." The Winchesters try to help him up, but he spits blood and passes out.

"Castiel!" Jamie yells in shock.

"Cas?" Sam puts his hand in front of the angel's mouth. "He's breathing. Sort of. What do we do?"

Sam is standing in front of a motel and rips a page from a phone book at a pay phone. Dean comes out of the motel with Jamie. Two people pass, one with a large mustache.

"I mean, the mustaches alone..." Sam mutters to himself.

"Yeah." Jamie agrees.

Dean nods. "So I paid for Cas for five nights up in the, uh, honeymoon suite. I told the manager, 'Do not disturb no matter what.' You know what he said to me? 'Yeah. Don't sweat it. Want to buy some dope?' Sam snorts. Jamie snickers. "Dope. We ought to stick around here, buy some stock in Microsoft."

Sam smirks. "Yeah, we might have to if Cas doesn't recover. Is he all right?"

Dean looks at him. "What do I look like—Dr. Angel, Medicine Woman? Jamie says he'll wake up. He's, you know, tough for a little nerdy dude with wings."

"If he landed like that, hopefully, so did Anna. Should buy us some time."

Jamie shrugs. "Hopefully. But I can't see to tell you for sure."

Dean nods to the phonebook. "So, did you find 'em?"

"Yeah. Uh, the Winchesters. Four-eight-five Robintree." Sam holds up the torn phone-book page.

"Let's go pop in on the folks." Dean says to his siblings.

"Guess I better take this off, huh?" Jamie holds up her wrist to show she's wearing Mary's hunter bracelet.

A blue car pulls up across the street from the Impala. Sam, Jamie, and Dean get out and cross the street to the house the Impala is parked in front of.

"Sam. Sam. Wait, wait, wait, wait." Sam stops. Dean and Jamie catch up.

"Guys, Anna could be here any second."

"I don't feel anything, so I think we have a minute."

"Good. What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell 'em?"

"Uh, the truth."

"What, that their sons and daughter are back from the future to save them from an angel? Gone Terminator? Come on. Those movies haven't even come out yet."

"Well, then tell her demons are after 'em. I mean, she thinks you're a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, a hunter who disappeared right when her dad died. She's gonna love me."

Jamie sighs. "Tell me you have a plan, Dean."

Dean thinks for a moment. "Just follow my lead." He heads past them to the house. The twins look at each other. They follow him up to the door and he rings the doorbell. After a moment Mary answers.

"Hi, Mary." Dean says.

"You can't be here."

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time."

"You don't understand. I'm not—" She stops and looks at Sam, who is staring at her, and then to Jamie. She does a bit of a double take when she sees her, obviously surprised by the resemblance. Jamie moves farther behind Dean, looking sheepish. "I don't do that anymore. I have a normal life now. You have to go." She moves to close the door. Dean holds an arm out to stop her.

"I'm sorry, but this is important, okay?"

John clears his throat and swings the door open wider.

"Sorry, sweetie, they're just..."

"Mary's cousins." Dean says quickly. Mary smiles awkwardly. "Yeah, we couldn't stop through town without swinging by and saying 'hey', now, could we?" He holds out a hand for John to shake. "Dean."

"You look familiar." John says, eyeing Dean carefully.

"Really? Yeah, you do, too, actually, you know? We must have met sometime. Small towns, right? Got to love 'em."

"I'm John."

"Hi." Jamie says softly.

John looks at her. She moves out a little bit from Dean. "Wow, you and Mary share some resemblance alright. Must be from her mother, Deanna."

"Yeah..um I'm Jamie."

John holds his hand out for Sam to shake. Sam stares a moment, then takes it.

"This is Sam." Dean says, shrugging.

"Sam. Uh, Mary's father was a Sam."

Sam smiles and nods.

"Uh, it's a—it's a family name."

Sam hasn't let go of John.

"You okay, pal? You look a little spooked."

Sam drops John's hand. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Just a...long trip."

Jamie shrugs. "Yeah. Uncomfortable and stuff."

"Yeah."

"Well, Sam, Jamie, and Dean were just on their way out." Mary says, going for the door.

"What? They just got here. Real happy to meet folks from Mary's side. Please come on in for a beer."

"Twist my arm." Dean comments. Mary glares at him.

Later they're all sitting in the living room, Mary and John across from their future kids. Sam can't stop staring at Mary, who is visibly uncomfortable. Jamie looks equally uncomfortable, she's sitting between Dean and Sam.

"Are you sure you're okay, Sam?" John asks.

"W—oh. Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm just, um—You are so beautiful."

John leans forward. Jamie and Dean cringe and look at each other.

"He means that in a—a non-weird, wholesome, family kind of a way." Dean says, looking towards Jamie.

Jamie nods. "Yeah. Yeah, it's just been awhile, ya know."

"Yeah, right." Sam says.

"We haven't seen Mary in—in quite some time, and—See, she's the spitting image of our mom. Hence, ya know, Jamie and…I mean, it's—it's—"

"Eerie." Sam supplies.

"Yeah."

"So, how are you guys related?" John asks.

"You know, uh, distantly."

"Oh. So you knew Mary's parents?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mary's dad was, uh, pretty much like a grandpa to us." Jamie elbows Dean in the ribs.

John doesn't notice. "Oh. That was tragic—that heart attack."

Jamie looks up. "Heart attack. Right."

John reaches over to take Mary's hand.

"Yes, it was." Dean agrees.

"So, uh, what are you guys doing in town, anyway?"

"Uh, business, you know."

"Oh, yeah? What line of work?"

Sam, Jamie, and Dean speak simultaneously.

"Plumbing."

"Roofing."

"Scrap metal."

Mary stands up. "Oh, gosh. It's almost seven. I hate to be rude, but I got to get dinner ready."

"Maybe they could stay."

"I'm sure they have to leave."

The phone rings. "Uh, look, please stay. You know, it would mean a lot to me. I haven't met much of Mary's side of the family." John gets up and goes to answer the phone.

"You have to leave. Now." Mary tells them as soon as John leaves the room.

"Okay, just listen—"

"No, you listen. Last time I saw you, a demon killed my parents. Now you waltz in here like you're family? Whatever you want—no. Leave me alone."

"You and John are in danger." Sam finally says.

Mary stops, looking at them. "What are you talking about?

Jamie stares at her. "Something's coming for you."

"Demon?"

Dean shakes his head. "Not exactly."

"Well, what, then?"

Dean looks at his siblings and then to Mary. "It's kind of hard to explain, okay? It's—it's—"

"Complicated." Jamie finishes for him.

"An angel." Sam blurts out, causing his brother and sister to glare at him.

Mary laughs. "What? There's no such thing."

Jamie looks at Dean. "I wish. But they're twice as strong as demons. And bigger dicks." He says.

"Why would an angel want to kill us?"

Sam and Jamie turn to Dean. He looks at Mary. "It's a long story, and we'll tell you the whole thing, but right now, you've got to trust us, and we got to go. Look at my face and tell me if I'm lying to you."

Mary stares at him for a moment. "Okay. Where do we go?"

"Out of here. We got to move now, though."

"Okay. But what do I tell John?"

"Just tell him—"

Jamie grabs Dean's wrist. "Dean. He's…"

Dean looks around. "John?" He leads the way into the hallway, where Mary notices a note by the phone: _Back in 15 J _She takes down the notepad and turns to look at Dean.

John walks through the garage, which is dark and otherwise empty of people. "Mr. Woodson? You still here?" He turns on a light and sees Mr. Woodson lying on the ground face down. He turns him over and sees that his eyes have been burnt out. He backs away and turns around: Anna is right behind him. She grabs him and flings him across the room into a tall shelf, which falls over.

She then watches John get up. Her vision doubles and blurs. She blinks. John hits her with a crowbar. She sprawls across the floor, then a moment later is standing, and she flings him over a car. She turns around: Dean is there with an angel-killing sword. Anna grabs Dean's wrist and neck. Dean tries to pry her hand off his neck. Jamie rushes over to them.

"Dean!"

"Jamie, check on John!" She looks at him and then rushes over to John.

"I wish I could say it's good to see you, Anna." Dean tells her.

"You too, Dean." She sends him flying out a window.

"Dean!" Jamie yells again. She reluctantly holds back in order to keep herself from revealing her powers. Mary picks up the dropped angel-killing sword, twirls it to a better grip, and advances. Jamie helps John up and holds him steady. John looks up and sees Mary fighting like an expert. Mary slashes at Anna and cuts her hand. Anna ducks, Mary takes another swing, and the angel vanishes. Mary looks around; Anna appears behind her. Mary strikes and Anna catches her.

"I'm sorry." She flings Mary into a windshield.

"Ma-Mary!" Anna looks over at Jamie, distracted. Jamie narrows her eyes, visibly tensing as she keeps herself from going toward Anna. Mary crawls over the car, away from Anna, as Anna advances slowly. Mary slides off the car, stumbles to a bench, grabs a crowbar, turns around, and drives it into Anna's chest.

Nothing happens. Mary stares as Anna pulls out the bloody crowbar and drops it. "Sorry. It's not that easy to kill an angel."

"No." Sam is standing with a bloody palm next to an angel-banishing sigil. "But you can distract 'em."

Sam presses his palm to the sigil, which burns as Anna vanishes, this time more permanently. Jamie hugs John and then flinches away awkwardly. Mary catches her breath, then sees John staring at her.

John is at the wheel of the Impala as he drives through the night, Sam seated directly behind him, Jamie next to him, Mary shotgun, and Dean behind her.

"Monsters. Monsters?" He asks.

"Yes." Mary says.

"Monsters are real."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how—"

"And you fight them? All of you?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"Call it a family business." Jamie mutters. Dean gives her a lot.

"How long?"

"All my life. John, just try to understand—"

Dean tries to mitigate John's anger. "She didn't exactly have a choice—"

"Shut up, all of you! Look, not another word, or so help me, I will turn this car around!"

Silence falls.

"Wow. Awkward family road trip." Dean whispers to his siblings.

Jamie nods. "You can say that again."

"No kidding." Sam agrees.

The Impala pulls up to the Campbell house and Mary leads the way inside, flipping on a lightswitch as she passes it. The place is very ill-maintained. "Place has been in the family for years." She flips up a round carpet, revealing A devil's trap. "Devil's trap. Pure iron fixtures, of course." Dean, Jamie, and Sam look impressed. She turns on another lightswitch. "Um, there should be salt and holy water in the pantry, knives, guns."

"All that stuff will do is piss it off." Sam tells her.

"So, what will kill it? Or slow it down, at least?"

"Not much." He confesses.

Mary laughs. "Great."

"He said not much, not nothing. We packed." Dean thumps the duffel bag down on the table and Jamie rummages in it. She takes out a piece of paper.

"Here." She hands it to Dean.

"If we put this up and she comes close—" He shows Mary a paper with the angel-banishing sigil. "—we beam her right off the starship."

"Mm."

Jamie takes out the jar of holy oil and hands it to Sam. "This is holy oil." He tells their mother.

"It's kind of like a devil's trap for angels." Jamie takes out her journal and opens it. She hands it to Sam.

"Come on. I'll show you how it works." Sam leaves. Mary looks at John, then follows. Jamie takes out the angel-killing sword.

"Hey, what's the deal with the thing on the paper?" John asks walking over to Dean.

"It's a sigil. That means—"

"I don't care what it means. Where does it go?"

"On a wall or a door." Dean tells him.

"How big should I make it?"

"John—"

"Dean." Jamie gives Dean a look. She takes out a large knife and sets it down.

"What? Y'all might have treated me like a fool, but I am not useless. I can draw a damn—" He picks up the paper from next to a large knife. "—whatever it is—a sigil."

Dean looks at him. "Why don't you go help Sam out? Okay? 'Cause this has got to be done in...it's got to be done in human blood."

John picks up the knife, unsheathes it, and slices his left palm open. "So, how big?"

"I'll show you." Dean laughs a bit. Jamie smirks.

"What?"

"All of a sudden, you...you really remind me of my dad." He glances at John and then looks at Jamie. "You alright in here by yourself?"

Jamie nods. "Yup."

Dean leaves with John.

Mary pours holy oil. She looks up when Dean and Jamie enter the room. "Okay. You said you'd explain everything when we had a minute. We have a minute. Why does an angel want me dead?"

"'Cause they're dicks."

"Dean."

Mary laughs. "Not good enough. I didn't even know they existed, and now I'm a target?"

"Not you…specifically."

"Jamie…"

"What?"

"Fine." Mary stands up. "All ears."

Dean looks at her. "You're just gonna have to trust me, okay?"

"I've been trusting you all day."

Jamie looks at her brother. "She's not buying it anymore, Dean."

Dean looks at Jamie and then glances back at Mary. "It's kind of hard to believe."

"All right, then. I'm walking out the door." Mary begins to turn away.

"Wait!" Jamie yells.

"I'm your son." Dean says.

"What?"

"And so is Sam. And I'm your daughter." Jamie tells her, before looking away.

Dean nods. "Sorry. I don't know how else to say it. We're from the year two thousand and ten. An angel zapped us back here. Not the one that attacked you, friendlier."

"You can't expect me to believe that."

Jamie looks at Dean. Dean looks at her again and then looks back at Mary. "Our names are Dean, Sam, and Jamie Winchester. We're named after your parents. When I would get sick, you would make me tomato-rice soup, because that's what your mom made you. And instead of a lullaby, you would sing "Hey Jude", 'cause that's your favorite Beatles song."

Jamie takes out her silver hunter's bracelet. She holds it up so Mary can see it. "John, Dad, gave this to me."

Mary shakes her head, crying. "I...I don't believe it. No."

Jamie resists the urge to go to her. Dean puts his hand on her shoulder, gripping her jacket. "I'm sorry, but it's true." Dean days.

"I raised my kids to be hunters?"

"No."

"No. No, you didn't."

"How could I do that to you?"

"You didn't do it. Because you're dead." Dean mutters.

Mary's eyes widen.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Jamie whispers.

"What? What happened?"

Jamie glances back at her brother. "Dean, for the love of God, tell her."

"Yellow-eyed demon. He killed you, and—" Dean glances toward the doorway. "John became a hunter to get revenge. He raised us in this life. Listen to me. A demon comes into Jamie and Sam's nursery exactly six months after they're born. November second, nineteen eighty-three. Remember that date."

Jamie stares at Mary. "And whatever you do…do not go in there. You wake up that morning and you take me and Sam and you run. Don't worry about Dad and Dean. Just take us and run."

"That's not good enough, Jamie." Dean, Jamie, and Mary look over at Sam, who's in the doorway. "Wherever she goes, the demon's gonna find her. Find me."

"So let's go kill the demon."

"Jamie."

"Worth a try."

Dean glares at his sister and then turns back to Sam. "Well, then what?"

"She can leave Dad. That's what. You got to leave John." Sam tells her.

'What?"

Sam nods. "When this is all over, walk away, and never look back."

"So we're never born." Dean says.

"Then none of this will ever happen." Jamie finishes.

"I—I can't. You're saying that you're my children, and now you're saying—"

"You have no other choice." Dean says definitively. "There's a big difference between dying and never being born. And trust me, we're okay with it."

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. Sam puts his hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie takes Dean's hand and squeezes it. "We can promise you that." She tells her mother.

"Okay, well, I'm not."

Sam shakes his head. "Listen, you think you can have that normal life that you want so bad, but you can't. I'm sorry. It's all gonna go rotten. You are gonna die, and your children will be cursed."

Jamie swallows heavily. "In more ways than you can imagine." Dean squeezes her hand.

"There—there has to be a way."

"No, this is the way. Leave John."

"I can't."

"This is bigger than us. There are so many more lives at stake—"

"Sam." Jamie stares at Mary.

"You don't understand. _I can't." _ Mary pauses. "It's too late. I'm...I'm pregnant."

While Dean, Jamie, and Sam absorb this, John comes in. "Hey, we got a problem. Those blood things, the sigils—they're gone."

"Gone?" Jamie asks, stepping towards him.

Sam turns to him. "Gone as in..."

"I drew one on the back of the door. I turned around. And when I looked back again, it was a smudge."

Dean goes to look. "He's right."

Mary bends down to check the oil circle she just poured. "There's no more holy oil."

Jamie eyes widen. "Oh goddamnit! Cover your ears. Now!" A loud high-pitched noise: an angel's voice. Jamie draws the angel-killing sword. Everyone else covers their ears. The windows and lightbulbs shatter, plunging the room into darkness. Jamie grips the angel sword. "Come on out you bitch!"

The windows keep shattering. The angel shuts up. Everyone looks up. The door flies open, the sound of angel wings, and someone enters: it's Uriel. Jamie steps forward.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asks, stepping forward next to his sister.

"Uriel." Jamie hisses.

"You know me?" The angels asks.

"I know of you." She shoots back.

Dean backs away. "Oh, come on."

Sam turns to Mary. "Go." He sees Anna blocking the other exit.

Jamie looks at her brothers. "It's too late."

"Here goes nothin'." Dean mutters.

Sam grabs his sister. "Jamie, protect them!"

Dean attacks Uriel while Sam goes after Anna. Jamie stands in front of John and Mary. Uriel and Anna throw the brothers aside and advance towards Jamie. Jamie goes to stab Anna, but Uriel throws her aside. John goes for the sword that Jamie dropped, but Anna blocks it and throws John through the wall into the back yard.

"John!" Mary yells.

Sam goes for the sword, but Anna rips a fixture from the wall and stabs him. Sam begins to bleed.

"Sam!" Jamie yells, trying to get up.

"Sammy!" Dean yells from the floor.

Outside, something bright glows above John. He looks up. Sam slumps to the floor, dead.

"Sam!"

Jamie rolls over to her twin and looks at him. "He's dead!" She scrambles to her feet and motions for the angel-killing sword. It flies into her hands.

Anna turns to Mary. "I'm really sorry."

Jamie rushes towards Anna but John stops her. She stares at him. "Domini mei." John looks at her and then turns to Anna.

"Anna."

"Michael."

Jamie drops the sword and falls to her knees. She bows her head. Michael, wearing John, puts a hand on Anna's shoulder. She bursts into flames, screaming. Mary stares. Michael turns to Uriel.

"Michael. I didn't know."

"Goodbye, Uriel."

Michael snaps his fingers and Uriel disappears.

"What did you do to John?" Mary asks.

"John is fine."

"Who—what are you?"

"Shh..." Michael touches Mary's forehead and she falls unconscious to the ground. He turns and looks at Jamie. "Arise, prophetess." Jamie gets up. They stare at each other. "Prophetess, I hope you and I will understand each other someday."

Jamie casts her eyes down. "My lord…what you seek I desire with all my heart to keep from you."

"Desire is not enough."

"Forgive me, my lord, but I'm hoping it will be." Jamie bows her head. Michael then turns to Dean.

"Well, I'd say this conversation is long overdue, wouldn't you?"

"What the hell did you do to Jamie?" Dean asks, glancing at his sister.

"Jamie serves me, of course. I've protected her for her entire life, from her crib that night with Azazel onward. She owes me, in a way."

"You protected her and you couldn't protect our mother?"

"She wasn't mine to protect."

Dean points at Sam. "Fix him."

"First...we talk. Then I fix your darling little Sammy."

"How'd you get in my dad, anyway?"

"I told him I could save his wife, and he said yes."

"I guess they oversold me being your one and only vessel."

"You're my true vessel but not my only one."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Jamie looks up. "My lord, may I speak?" Michael nods. Jamie turns to Dean. "It's a bloodline."

"A bloodline?"

"Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It's in your blood, your father's blood, your family's blood."

"My blood." Jamie adds.

Michael nods. "Yes, but the power of prophesy within you keeps me from entering."

"Lucky me." She mutters.

"Awesome. Six degrees of Heaven Bacon. What do you want with me?"

"You really don't know the answer to that?"

"Well, you know I ain't gonna say yes, so why are you here? What do you want with me?!"

"Dean." Jamie goes over and stands beside Dean.

"I just want you to understand what you and I have to do."

Dean puts an arm protectively around Jamie. "Oh, I get it. You got beef with your brother. Well, get some therapy, pal. Don't take it out on my planet!"

"You're wrong. Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me. But still...I don't want this any more than you would want to kill Sam." He looks at Jamie. "Anymore then you want to watch this happen." He turns away. "You know, my brother, I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him." He turns back. "But I am going to kill him because it is right and I have to."

"Oh, because God says so?"

"Thy will be done." Jamie whispers.

"Yes. From the beginning, he knew this was how it was going to end."

"And you're just gonna do whatever God says."

"Yes, because I am a good son."

Jamie looks at Dean. "He sees no other choice."

"Listen to your sister."

"Okay, well, trust me, pal. Take it from someone who knows—that is a dead-end street."

"And you think you know better than my father? One unimportant little man. What makes you think you get to choose?"

"Because I got to believe that I can choose what I do with my unimportant little life."

"You're wrong. You know how I know?" MICHAEL turns away, then back. "Think of a million random acts of chance that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the three of you. Think of the million random choices that you make, and yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it's not random. It's not chance. It's a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will's an illusion, Dean. That's why you're going to say yes. Oh, buck up. It could be worse. You know, unlike my brothers, I won't leave you a drooling mess when I'm done wearing you."

"Well, what about our dad?"

"Better than new. In fact, I'm gonna do your mom and your dad a favor."

"What?"

"Scrub their minds. They won't remember me or you."

Jamie looks up. "My lord…"

"You can't do that."

"I'm just giving your mother what she wants. She can go back to her husband, her family—"

"She's gonna walk right into that nursery!" Dean and Jamie yell at the same time.

"Obviously." Michael turns away. "And you always knew that was going to play out one way or another." He turns back. "You can't fight City Hall." He goes over to Sam and presses two fingers to his forehead. Sam vanishes. The pipe clanks to the floor. Michael stands up. "He's home. Safe and sound. Your turn. I'll see you soon, Dean." He presses two fingers to Dean's forehead. He disappears. Michael looks at Jamie. "I told your brother the truth. It was me who prevented Azazel from touching you."

Jamie looks down. "I should be grateful, my lord, but I'm not. If you had saved Sam instead…"

Michael grabs her chin and forces her to look at him. "You were chosen before your birth, Jamie, as were your brothers. You try too hard to change things that cannot be changed." Jamie casts her eyes down. "I'm not a…dick Jamie. No matter what your brothers think. I have watched over you for your entire life, I want you to be happy, but I have to do this."

Jamie moves away from him. "My entire life? Have you seen my entire life? My parents, my brothers, AJ. They all died in front of me." Tears stream down her face. "The last thing I have ever wanted in life is to send other men to die for me, and that's exactly what you've been doing. For my entire life, you have let other men die in my place!" She looks away and then holds Michael's gaze. "He won't say yes, Michael. Mark my words." Michael places two fingers on her forehead and she disappears.

The Winchesters are back in the motel room in their own time. Dean pulls out a bottle. Sam takes plastic wrap off a pair of cups. The room between them is empty. Sam looks up into a mirror and sees Castiel and Jamie behind him. "Help." Jamie calls.

"Castiel." Sam turns around and grabs hold of Castiel, keeping him and Jamie from falling. "Hey. Hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

"Cas!" Dean hurries over and helps hold Castiel up.

"We got you."

"You son of a bitch. You made it."

"I...I did? I'm very surprised."

Castiel collapses.

Jamie groans. "Cas!"

"Whoa! You're okay."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "Bed?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Now."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam haul Castiel to the nearest bed and lay him on it. "Well, I could use that drink now."

"Yeah."

"Me three."

Dean pours three drinks. "Well...this is it."

"God…"

"This is what?" Sam takes a sip.

"Team Free Will. One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, one migraine sufferer who hears voices, and Mr. Comatose over there. It's awesome."

Jamie deadpans. "It's crap."

"It's not funny." Sam says.

Dean takes a drink. "I'm not laughing."

Sam sighs. "They all say we'll say yes."

"I know. It's getting annoying."

"They think if they tell you that long enough you'll believe them."

"But what if they're right?"

Dean takes a drink. "They're not."

"I mean, why, why would we, either of us? But...I've been weak before."

"Sam."

"Michael got Dad to say yes."

"That was different. "

Jamie takes a drink. "Anna was about to kill Mom."

Sam looks at both his siblings. "And if you could save Mom...what would you say?"

Dean looks away. Jamie looks at him and then at Sam. "At least we know the whole story now. About that night."

Sam nods. "Yeah. I had demons watching over me, and you and Dean had angels." Sam finishes his drink and walks towards the bathroom. Dean takes a drink and walks away from his siblings. Jamie frowns and sits down on the bed beside Cas.


	27. 514 My Bloody Valentine

"Prophetess?" Castiel knocks on the bathroom door. There's the sound of water running on the other side. After a moment the water shuts off. "Jamie?"

Jamie opens the door, her hair soaking water, wrapped in a towel. "Yes?"

"I'm back." Castiel replies, deadpan.

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "I can see that. You realize you interrupted my shower, right?"

"I thought it necessary to inform you of my presence, so you wouldn't be shocked when you entered the room and found me here." Jamie snorts and shakes her head, about to close the door again when Castiel notices the wound on her shoulder. "You're hurt!" He exclaims, throwing the door open and stepping closer to her.

"I'm fine. I got shoved through a glass door on my last hunt. It's nothing. Barely even bleeding, see."

Dean and Sam are standing in an autopsy room in their FBI suits. There are hearts on a tray in front of them. "Hey." Dean hands Sam one of the hearts they're examining. "Be my Valentine?"

Sam rolls his eyes and then looks closer at the heart in his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. These hearts both have identical marks. Check this out. It looks like some kind of letter. Oh, no."

"What?" Dean glances over.

Sam looks up, frowning. "I think it's Enochian."

Dean's eyes widen and his expression becomes annoyed. "You mean like angel scratches? So you think it's like the tagging on our ribs?"

"Dean, I don't know."

"Ah, hell. Call Jamie." They take out their cellphones. Dean dials Castiel's number while Sam dials their sister's. "Cas, it's Dean. Yeah, room 31-c, basement level...St. James medical center."

"Hey Jamie?"

Castiel and Jamie appear in the room. Castiel is still holding his cellphone. "I'm there now." He says into the phone, staring at Dean.

"Yeah, I get that."

"I'm gonna hang up now."

"Right."

Jamie smirks at her brother and the angel, and then looks at the hearts. "Human hearts? Great. Cas?"

Castiel walks over to her and picks up one of the hearts. Jamie points out the symbol engraved in the muscle. "You're right, Sam. These are angelic marks. I imagine you'll find similar marks on the other couples' hearts as well—"

Sam turns to him. "So, what are they? I mean, what do they mean?"

Jamie grabs Castiel's wrist so she can better see the heart. "That's a mark of union."

Castiel nods. "This man and woman were intended to mate."

Dean tries not to look disturbed. "Okay, but who put them there?"

"Cherubs." Jamie replies without missing a beat.

The angel turns to her."Well, your people call them "Cupid. " He says, before glancing to Dean and Sam.

"Right."

"A what?" Sam asks, tiredly.

'What human myth has mistaken for "Cupid" is actually a lower order of angel." Jamie explains.

"Yeah, technically it's a cherub, third-class."

"Cherub?"

"Yeah, they're all over the world. There are dozens of them."

Dean stares at him. "You mean the little flying fat kid in diapers?"

"They're not incontinent." Dean gives Castiel a look.

Jamie snickers and shakes her head. Sam looks at her and then to Cas. "Okay, anyway. So, what you're saying—"

"What I'm saying is a Cupid has gone rogue and we have to stop him."

"Before he kills again." Jamie adds.

"Naturally." Sam says.

"Of course we do." Dean echoes, not looking the least bit thrilled.

Jamie rubs her shoulder. Castiel sees her doing this. "One more thing. Dean, will you please inspect the wound on Jamie's shoulder?"

"What?" Dean immediantly turns to Jamie, who looks pissed and elbows Cas. "You're hurt?"

"I'm fine. Castiel is just being overprotective because it's the first time he's seen me hurt where he hasn't been able to heal me."

They go out to the Impala. "Jamie rides shotgun, I want to see your shoulder." Dean says. Sam and Jamie look at each other and switch doors. They all get in.

"You'll check on her shoulder now?" Castiel asks.

Jamie groans. Dean moves over to her. "Let me see it." Jamie looks at him and then takes off her black utility jacket. She's wearing a red t-shirt underneath, but the bloodstains on the sleeve are still visible. Dean frowns. "Sam?" Sam opens the medical kit on the floor and hands Dean a clean gauze pad. "It's still bleeding, Jamie."

"It's nothing." She grabs the gauze and turns away.

Later the four of them are sitting in a restaurant. The waitress brings Dean a cheeseburger, and Sam a salad. Jamie is eating a sandwich. Dean turns to Castiel. "So, what, you just happen to know he likes the cosmos at this place?" He asks, referring to the cupid.

Jamie nods. "That's exactly what he's saying."

"This place is a nexus of human reproduction. It's exactly the kind of-" Castiel watches Dean put ketchup on his cheeseburger. "-of garden the Cupid will come to- to pollinate." He explains.

Dean puts his cheeseburger back down. Sam notices. "Wait a minute. You're not hungry?" He smirks.

"No." He pauses, seeing the looks on his brother and sister's faces. "What? I'm not hungry."

"Then you're not gonna finish that?" Castiel takes Dean's cheeseburger. Sam and Dean give him weird looks. He looks toward a couple at a table across the room. "He's here."

Sam looks around. "Where? I don't see anything."

Jamie and Castiel both notice the Valentine's day decorations and the wind that blows towards an Asian couple across the room. Jamie points. "There."

"You mean the same-side-of-the-booth couple over there?" Dean asks.

Castiel nods. "Meet me in the back." He disappears.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam join Castiel in the back room. Castiel has his hand raised out in front of him. Sam turns to their angel. "Cas, where is he?"

"I have him tethered. Zoda kama mahrana." Jamie walks forward and holds her hand up at well.

"Manifest yourself." She mutters.

"So, where is he?" A very fat and naked Cupid appears and grabs Dean in a hug. "Oof!"

"Here I am!"

"Help!" Dean yells in surprise.

"Oh, help is on the way. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Hello, you!" Cupid drops Dean and walks to Castiel. He picks Castiel up, hugging him.

"Ooh. Mmm."

"This is Cupid?"

"Yes."

"Oh hello honey." He goes to hug Jamie.

"Um hi." She pats his back.

"Oh! Oh! You're the prophetess! Oh." He hugs her again.

"Yeah." She mumbles, looking at Castiel and Dean.

"And look at you, huh?"

"No." Sam turns away but Cupid appears in front of him, hugging him too.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean asks, looking bewildered.

Castiel turns to look at him. "This is... Their handshake.

"I don't like it."

"No one likes it."

"Ugh." Jamie groans.

The cupid finally puts Sam down. "Mmm. What can I do for you?"

Castiel steps forward. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

Jamie steps forward. "Your targets- the ones you've marked-They're slaughtering each other."

"What? They are?" Cupid looks horrified.

Dean is trying not to look at the Cupid, but now he gets in his face."Listen, birthday suit, we know, okay? We know you been flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other!

"What we don't know is why." Castiel says.

Cupid looks bewildered and then depressed. "You think that I-Well, uh...I don't know what to say." Cupid walks away from them and cries.

Sam, Dean, Jamie, and Castiel watch. Sam looks shocked. "Should...Should somebody maybe... go talk to him?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Give 'em hell, Cas." Dean pats the angel's shoulder.

"Um... look. We didn't mean to," Cas looks back at the Winchesters. Sam nods, Dean gives him a thumbs up, Jamie crosses her arms and smirks. "Um...hurt your feelings." Cupid hugs Castiel. "Ugh!"

"Okay, now our angel needs a rape shower." Jamie mutters. Dean and Sam snicker.

"Love is more than a word to me, you know. I love love. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right!"

"Yes, yes. Of course." Castiel pats the cupid awkwardly on the back. "I, uh...I have no idea what you're saying."

"I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that that's nothing to do with me. I- I was following my orders. Please brother, prophetess. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see."

Jamie closes her eyes. Castiel stares into the cupid's eyes. Castiel and Jamie read Cupid's mind. "He's not lying." Jamie opens her eyes.

"He's telling the truth." Castiel turns back to them and walks over to Sam.

"Jiminy Christmas. Thank you."

"Wait, wait, you said-You said you were just following orders?" Dean walks forward.

"Mm-hmm."

"Whose orders?"

"Whose?" He laughs. "Heaven, silly."

"Heaven?" Jamie asks.

Dean stares at him. "Why does heaven care if Harry meets Sally?"

"Oh, mostly they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours."

"What?" Sam asks.

Jamie groans. "Oh god."

"Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester-Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement. Mm."

"Are you saying that you fixed-up our parents?" Dean asks.

"Well, not me, but... Yeah. Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them-Perfect couple."

Jamie shakes her head. "Perfect?"

"Yeah."

"They're dead!" Dean yells.

"I'm sorry, but... the orders were very clear. You, Jamie, and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh...meant to be." He starts to sing. "A match made in heaven- heaven!"

Dean rears back and punches Cupid in the chest. He whirls around and grabs his fist. "Son of a bitch!" Cupid disappears. Jamie walks forward and grabs Dean's hand. "Where is he? Where'd he go?!"

"I believe you upset him." Castiel tells him.

"Upset him?!"

"Dean. Enough!" Sam says, walking forward.

"What?"

"You just punched a Cupid!"

"I punched a dick!"

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Um...Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately or not?"

"Or not."

Jamie lets go of Dean and shakes her head as Dean brushes past her on his way out. Sam sighs and rolls his eyes. Jamie looks at Castiel. "Cas, next time just leave me at Bobby's."

Back in their motel room Sam explains the demon attack to Dean and Jamie. Jamie looks down at the briefcase. "What the hell does a demon got to do with this, anyway?" Dean asks.

"Believe me, I got no idea."

Jamie looks up at her twin. "You okay, Sam?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be all right." He tells her.

"Alright."

Dean looks at the briefcase. "Let's crack her open. What's the worst that could happen, right?" They open the briefcase and a bright light escapes.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaims. He and Dean shield their eyes but Jamie stares right into it.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asks. He looks at Jamie, giving her a weird look.

"Oh my god." Jamie rushes over to her bag and starts going through it.

Castiel appears. "It's a human soul. It's starting to make sense." Castiel takes a bite out of his burger.

"Now, what about that makes sense?" Sam asks.

"And when did you start eating?" Dean adds.

"Exactly. My hunger- it's a clue, actually."

"For what?" The boys asks at the same time.

"This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect. It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact-Specifically..."

"Famine." Jamie opens her journal.

Sam turns to his sister. "Famine? As- as in the horseman?"

Jamie nods. "The black rider."

"Great. Th- th-that's freaking great." Dean shakes his head, turning and walking towards the window.

Sam walks toward his sister and looks at her journal. "I thought famine meant starvation, like as in, you know, food."

Castiel nods. "Yes. Absolutely. But not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something-Sex, attention, drugs, love..."

Jamie looks at her brothers. "He infects people with those desires."

Dean walks back over to them. "Well, that explains the puppy-lovers that Cupid shot up."

Jamie nods. "Right. The cherub made them crave love, and then Famine came…"

"And he made them rabid for it." Castiel finishes.

Dean looks at the angel. "Okay, but what about you? I mean, since when do angels secretly hunger for White Castle?"

" It's my vessel- Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect?"

Dean looks at Jamie and then Cas. "So, Famine just rolls into town and everybody goes crazy?"

Jamie's eyes widen. She sees Famine exit a large black SUV- he is guarded by a group of demons. "And then will come Famine riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty... "She sees Famine and his demons enter a Biggerson's restaurant. "... and great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger." The restaurant patrons and staff are taken over by their hungers stuffing themselves with food drink, pills - one waitress takes all the money from the register, another couple starts kissing passionately. "His hunger will seep out and poison the air."

She blinks and shakes her head. Dean and Sam stare at her. Castiel frowns. "Famine is hungry. He must devour the souls of his victims."

"So, that's what was in the briefcase-The twinkie dude's soul?" Dean asks.

"Lucifer has sent his demons to care for Famine, to feed him, make certain he'll be ready." Castiel explains.

"Ready for what?" Sam asks. Castiel and Jamie both look up at him.

"To March across the land."

Sam stands by the sink and wipes his face with a cold washcloth.

"Famine?" Dean says as though he doesn't believe it.

"Yes." Castiel answers through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"So, what, this whole town is just gonna eat, drink, and screw itself to death?" Sam asks. Jamie looks over at him.

"We should probably stop it." Jamie crosses her arms and looks at her brothers.

Dean looks at her. "Yeah, that's a great idea. How?"

"How did you stop the last horseman you met?" Castiel asks.

"War got his mojo from this ring. And after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?" Dean asks.

"I know he does." Castiel says.

Jamie sighs. "Great."

"Well, okay. L- let's track him down and get to chopping."

"Yeah." The angel eyes his empty fast food bad sadly.

Sam is still cooling off his face and neck by the sink , he breathes heavily trying to calm down. Jamie glances back at him. She slips away from Dean's side and goes over to Sam.

"What are you, the Hamburglar?"

"I've developed a taste for ground beef."

Jamie touches Sam's shoulder. He jerks and then looks at her.

"Well, have you even tried to stop it?"

Jamie stares at her twin. Her jaw drops slightly. He frowns.

"I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want."

Sam's heartbeat is loud enough that Jamie can hear it drumming in his chest. He grabs the sink and gasps. Jamie reaches out and wraps her hand over his clenched fingers.

"Whatever. Sam, Jamie, let's roll."

"Dean?" Jamie calls softly. Dean turns back to his brother and sister.

"Dean...I, um...I can't. I can't go."

"What do you mean?"

Jamie looks at their brother. "It's gotten to him. Sam's infected."

"What?"

"I think I'm hungry for it..."

"Hungry for what?"

"You know."

"Demon blood?" Sam hangs his head. Jamie grips his hand. "You got to be kidding me." Dean turns to Castiel. "You got to get him out of here. You got to beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here."

Castiel shakes his head. "It won't work. He's already infected. The hunger is just gonna travel with him."

"Well, then, what do we do?"

"You go cut that bastard's finger off." Sam tells him.

Jamie nods. "You heard him."

"But, guys...before you go, you better...you better lock me down - but good." Sam tells them.

Dean cuffs Sam to the bathroom sink pipe. Jamie wets a rag and puts it to Sam's forehead and face. "You're going to be alright, Sam." She tells him.

Dean nods. "All right, well, just hang in there. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Be careful. And... hurry."

Dean turns to their sister. "Jamie, you stay here and watch him."

Jamie looks at him. "What if you need my help? Famine could know we're here. He could set a trap for you."

"Cas and I can take care of it. I need you to watch Sammy."

Jamie stares at him for a moment and then nods. "Alright." Castiel and Dean exit the bathroom, and Castiel blocks the bathroom door with a dresser. Jamie sits down on the tub. Sam struggles against the cuffs. Jamie gets up and gets the rag again. Sam struggles. "Hey. Hey. Look at me. It's okay."

"How come you're not…" She dabs his face with the cloth.

"What? How come I'm not what?"

"Affected. Like everyone else. Ahh. Mmm." Sam groans and squeezes his eyes shut.

Jamie sighs. "It's prophet mojo. Neutral party, immune to all the party tricks. Even in exile."

Sam struggles against the cuffs. "Ugh!" He's going to rip the pipe off the sink. Jamie grabs unto his arms, but then stops. They hear the dresser being moved, unblocking the bathroom door.

"Dean?" Jamie gets up, and goes into the tub.

"Guys, what happened? I don't think it worked. I think I'm still—" The bathroom door opens, and two demons enter."...still hungry. Jamie?" He glances towards the shower.

"Look at this. Someone trussed you up for us. Boss says we can't kill you...but I bet we can break off a few pieces." The female demon says.

The male demon leans down and breaks Sam's cuffs. Jamie jumps out of the shower. She kicks him and then waves her hand, violently throwing him back and he crashes into the shower wall. "Ugh!"

Sam leaps up and tackles the female demon and brings her crashing down onto the glass table in the main room. He grabs a shard of glass and stabs her in the throat with it. Sam latches onto the female demon's neck and starts drinking her blood.

"Sam!" Jamie yells.

"Ugh! Get him off! Get him off!" The male demon flings Jamie backward into the wall and tries to pull Sam off of the female demon, but can't budge him. We hear Sam's shirt tear. The male demon grabs a piece of wood and attempts to hit Sam with it, but Jamie rushes out and flings the male demon against the wall. He groans and Sam gets up.

"Wait your turn."

"Sammy." She steps back seeing the blood all over Sam's face and female demon dead. Sam looks at her. He rushes to the male demon and begins to drain his blood as well. Jamie rushes towards him and then stops, hit with visions. She sees Dean with Famine. "Sam! Famine has Dean."

Sam looks up. They stare at each other and then rush out the door.

"Doesn't take much-hardly a push. Oh, America-all-you-can-eat, all the time. Consume, consume. A swarm of locusts in stretch pants. And yet, you're all still starving because hunger doesn't just come from the body, it also comes from the soul." Famine is saying. Dean is held by two demons. Several others are behind him.

Dean looks at him. "It's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine."

"Yes. I noticed that. Have you wondered why that is? How you could even walk in my presence?"

"Well, I like to think it's because of my strength of character."

"I disagree." Famine moves closer to Dean and touches him. Dean struggles and groans. "Yes. I see. That's one deep, dark nothing you got there, Dean. Can't fill it, can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex."

"Oh, you're so full of crap."

"Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother and sister, lie to yourself, but not to me! I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated. You can't win, and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just... keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already...dead."

"Get away from him." Jamie walks into the restaurant, cracking her neck as she stares down the Horseman.

"Let him go." Sam steps in beside her.

Famine turns to face Sam and Jamie. Sam's face is stained with blood. "Jamie, Sam..."

"Jamie, Sammy, no!" Dean tells them. Two of the five demons guarding Famine move to attack them.

"Stop! You are not allowed to attack the Prophetess and no one lays a finger on this sweet little boy. Sam, I see you got the snack I sent you." Famine moves towards them.

"You sent?" Sam asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry. You're not like everyone else. You'll never die from drinking too much. You're the exception that proves the rule. Just the way...Satan wanted you to be. So... "Famine lifts his hands and gestures at the demons guarding him "cut their throats. Have at them!"

"Sammy, no!"

Jamie looks at her brother. "Shut up, Dean."

"Please, be my guest."

Sam lifts his hand, closes his eyes, and pulls all five demons from their hosts at once. Jamie is stoic, but Dean watches in shock. The demon smoke pools on the floor. Sam lowers his hand. "No."

"Well...Fine. If you don't want them...then I'll have them." Famine devours all five of the demon souls. Sam steps forward and extends his hand toward Famine. "I'm a Horseman, Sam. Your power doesn't work on me."

Jamie steps forward by Sam's side, raising her hand as well. "No, but mine will."

"And mine will work on them." Jamie squeezes her hand, causing Famine to choke while Sam uses his power to rip out all the souls Famine consumed.

"Aahh!"

Sam's nose bleeds with the effort. Jamie grabs his free hand with her own. They clench their teeth together. The demon souls explode out of Famine and Famine slumps, his eyes empty. Dean looks at Sam and Jamie, as does Castiel.

Castiel, Jamie, and Dean stand outside the panic room door. Dean leans against the wall and drinks. In the panic room - Sam screams. "Let me out of here, please! Help!"

"God." Jamie closes her eyes and puts her forehead on Cas's shoulder. Castiel pats her shoulder and then looks at Dean.

"That's not him in there. Not really."

"I know."

Sam screams again and Jamie moves away. "I'm going to try to help him."

"Dean, Sam just has to get it out of his system. Then he'll be—"

"Listen, I just, uh...I just need to get some air." Dean leaves. Jamie looks at Castiel and then goes inside the panic room.


	28. 516 Dark Side of the Moon

It's still dark when Jamie quietly shoves open the door to the motel room and walks inside. Sam opens his eyes, rolling over and sitting up. She looks at him and drops her bag down, taking off her jacket and throwing it on top. Sam turns over and goes back to sleep. Jamie undoes her belt and drops it on her bag. There are lots of empty beer cans around the beds. Jamie picks up a half empty liqueur bottle and drinks it. She sets it down and undoes the buttons on her black button down shirt, shucking it off unto the floor. She pulls her hair loose, revealing that it's been cut so that it barely grazes her shoulders and kicks off her boots, curling up in the bed beside Dean whose lying on his stomach.

A few hours later Dean stirs, moving his hand under his pillow. He's startled when he realizes his gun isn't there. He nudges Jamie, and she opens her eyes.

"Looking for this?" A man in a ski mask is standing over them. He's holding a gun on Dean and Jamie. He pops the cartridge out of Dean's handgun and tosses it aside. Jamie sits up and her hands fly to her jeans, only to see that her utility belt with her gun is across the room. Dean turns over, looks at Sam who also has a gun pointed at him.

"Mornin'." Dean mutters.

"Shut up. Hands where I can see 'im." Dean lifts his hands then lifts himself up. Jamie does the same. Dean wraps an arm around Jamie, one hand protectively over her heart. "Oh no. You move away from her. You get up." He gestures at Jamie with the barrel of his gun. Jamie stands up and puts her hands up.

Dean stares at the man. "Wait a minute. Is that you, Roy? It is, isn't it." He grins, looking over at the guy holding the gun on Sam. "Which makes you Walt. Hiya Walt."

Roy and Walt look at each other. Walt removes his mask. "Don't matter." Roy lifts his mask off his face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jamie demands.

"Shut up Jamie." Walt tells her.

Dean clenches his jaw. "Well, is it just me, or do you two seem a tad upset?"

"You think you can flip the switch on the Apocalypse and just walk away, Sam?" Walt asks him.

"Who told you that?" Sam asks.

"We ain't the only hunters after you."

Jamie shakes her head, looking at Roy and then down the barrel of his gun. "Come on you guys, Dean and I have both hunted with you two. I saved your life from that Wendigo you pissed off." She gestures to Walt.

"Maybe you shouldn't have." Walt pumps his shotgun. "See you in the next life."

Sam looks freaked out, but tries to remain calm. "Hear me out. I can explain, okay? Please."

After a pause, Walt shoots Sam. Dean and Jamie jump to go to Sam.

Roy shifts to follow Dean's movement. "Stay the hell down."

Walt holds his gun on Jamie. "Stop right there." He looks to Roy. "Shoot 'im."

Roy pauses looking at Walt and back to Dean. "Killin' Sam was right but Dean…"

Jamie looks at Roy. "Dean is the vessel of the archangel Michael. If you shoot him…"

"Shut up!" Walt pumps his shotgun again. "You're next."

Jamie scoffs, looking over her shoulder before turning to him. "I am a prophet of the Lord, if you strike me down the wrath of Heaven will descend-" Walt shoots Jamie. She falls face down on the bed beside Dean. Her eyes open.

"Jamie!" Dean grabs unto her, pulling back and looking at the blood on his hands.

"Shoot 'im, Roy. He made us and we just snuffed his siblings, you idiot. You want to spend the rest of your life knowing Dean Winchester's on your ass, 'cause I don't. Shoot 'im."

Dean, who's been looking at Sam and Jamie's bodies, turns to face Roy. "Go ahead, Roy, do it. But I'm going warn you, when I come back I'm going to be pissed. C'mon! Let's get this show on the road."

"Come on, already." Walt steps forward and shoots Dean.

It's night. Dean is sitting in the Impala, sleeping. He is wearing his leather jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans. Thunder sounds. He wakes up. He gets out of the car, shuts the door. The trunk closes. Dean turns toward the sound. Teenaged Sam is there holding a crate of fireworks. "Sammy?"

"Come on, let's go." Sam walks off.

"Weird dream."

Sam places the fireworks on the ground and pulls out a couple. "Got your lighter?"

Dean checks his pockets and pulls out an old lighter. "Whoa, I haven't seen this in years."

"Fire 'em up."

Dean lights Sam's firework then his own. The go off, shooting red sparks into the sky. Dean smiles. "I remember this! It's Fourth of July, 1996."

The fireworks die. Dean looks down at Sam. Sam looks over at Dean. He's happy. "Dad would never let us do anything like this. Thanks, Dean. This is great." Sam hugs Dean. Dean looks startled then he hugs Sam back. Sam pulls away. The music restarts. Sam lights all the fireworks then runs away. "Fire in the hole!" The fireworks start to explode. Dean and Sam back away. Both of them laugh with joy before Sam goes out to dance under the sparks. "Do you think wherever she is, that Jamie is watching the fireworks too?"

Dean doesn't say anything, he only smiles. Sam nods to Dean acknowledging the special moment. Dean nods back. There is an especially loud explosion, then another, and Dean flashes back to the hotel room and being shot by Walt. Then he's back in the field but Sam and the fireworks are gone.

"Sam?" Dean goes back to the Impala and leans on the roof. The radio comes on, very scratchy.

"Dean!"

Dean leans in the driver's side window. "Cas?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Dean gets back in the car. "You gotta stop poking around in my dreams. I need some me time."

"Listen to me very closely. This isn't a dream."

Dean looks around. "Then what is it?"

"Deep down, you already know."

Dean flashes on Walt shooting Sam, then Jamie, then himself. He sees his own eye, partially shut. His face is blank. He is dead. "I'm dead."

"Condolences."

"Where am I?"

"Heaven."

"Heaven? How did I get to heaven?"

"Please, listen. This spell, this connection, it's difficult to maintain."

"Wait. If I'm in heaven, then where's Sam and Jamie?"

"What do you see?"

"What do you mean 'what do I see'?"

"Some people see a tunnel or a river. What do you see?"

"Nothing. My dash. I'm in my car. I'm on a road."

"Alright. A road. For you it's a road. Follow it, Dean. You'll find Sam and Jamie." The radio is breaking up. "Follow the road." The radio dies.

Dean starts the Impala and drives down the dark highway. The moon is huge and the sky is purple-toned and odd. He sees someone on the side of the road, trying to wave down a car. He pulls up and stops. It's Jamie. She's wearing a black skirt and a white button down top and talking to an older man in the car in front of Dean. "Jamie?"

"Dean? What are you doing here?"

Dean recognizes the older man. "Jefferson?"

"Yeah, weird right? This is the night of my 18th birthday."

Dean realizes something. "Hey I remember that night."

"What?"

"Yeah, we were in a motel in Colorado. I remember Dad got a call from somewhere, he was so mad. He called Jefferson and started yelling."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the way he chooses to raise his kids was none of Jefferson's business, and he didn't give a damn if they were old enough to make their own decisions. And then he made Jefferson promise to…to protect you."

Jamie looks back at Jefferson. "I wanted to come home, but I was so angry with Dad. And I knew he'd be angry with me too. I swore I never wanted to see him again. When I found out Sam left I was happy, it was like revenge, Dad got rid of wrong twin. Sam was the prodigal child, not me. He never let me be the good daughter."

"Jamie."

She turns back at Dean. "So, what's going on, exactly?"

"Just get in."

Jamie gets in the car and they continue to drive. Dean pulls up in front of a nice three-story house, slightly old-fashioned looking. Lights are bright inside it. Dean climbs slowly out of the car. Jamie gets out beside him. They look around but there is nothing but the house.

Inside the house a man is carving turkey. He places a huge piece on Sam's plate. Sam is dressed in a white shirt and tie. "Thank you." Sam tells him.

"So, Sam. I hear you're new to McKinley."

"Um, yes sir. Two weeks."

"Stephanie over here just can't seem to stop talking about you."

"Dad, shut up."

Stephanie smiles at Sam. Sam smiles back nervously. She grabs his thigh and Sam jumps. "Ummm." Sam looks up to see Dean and Jamie walking into the dining room.

"Wow. Just wow." Dean gives him a look, and then looks at Jamie. "And I thought you in the Catholic School girl getup was creepy."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Dean…"

"Dean? Jamie? What are you doing in my dream?" Dean just makes a face in response. Jamie shakes her head.

The conversation in the dining room continues even though Sam is no longer seated at the table. He is in the living room with Dean and Jamie.

"So, what does your father do for a living?" There is a pause for Sam's response. "Hm. You don't say."

Sam watches this go on. "Heaven."

"Yup."

Sam turns back to Dean. "Okay, how are we in heaven?"

"All that clean living, I guess."

Sam shakes his head. "No, no. Okay. Jamie, of course. You… I get, sure. But me? Maybe you haven't noticed but I've done a few things?"

"You thought you were doing the right thing."

"Last I checked it wasn't the road to heaven that was paved with good intentions."

"Yeah, well, if this is the Skymall it sucks. I mean, where's the triplets and the latex, you know? C'mon, a guy has needs."

Jamie walks over, a book in her hand. "Dean that's disgusting." She tosses the book down and shakes her head. "I would kill to have Bobby's library up here."

Sam looks at Stephanie's family, still eating dinner as if he's there. "You know, when you bite the dust they say your life flashes before your eyes."

"Your point?" Dean asks.

"This house, it's one of my memories."

Dean realizes something. "When I woke up, I woke up in one of my memories. The Fourth of July we burned down that field?"

Jamie nods. "And I did too, the night I left Mercyhurst."

"Maybe that's what heaven is: a place where you relive your greatest hits." Sam grins.

Dean doesn't look as thrilled. "Wait, so… playing footsie with brace-face in there? Then that's a trophy moment for you?"

"Dean, I was eleven years old. This was my first real Thanksgiving."

Dean steps back. "What are you talking about? We had Thanksgiving every year."

"We had a bucket of extra-crispy and Dad passed out on the couch." Dean raises an eyebrow at this.

Jamie shrugs. "It's still more then I had. I got to eat dinner with the nuns, and they…"There is a rumbling noise from outside. Dean, Jamie, and Sam look around.

"I don't remember this."

The lights go out. The family continues eating. The house begins to shake. Jamie steps back. "Hey guys..." They all look at the family.

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "We should, uh…"

Sam nods. "Definitely." They run to the far corner of the room. Sam stands up beside the window. Jamie ducks behind the couch, Dean throws himself over her. The glass in a picture on the mantle breaks. The family continues eating. A searchlight streams through the window. Dean drops down lower with Jamie. More furniture falls over. More glass breaks. Then the searchlight disappears. The lights come on in the house and Jamie, Sam and Dean leave their hiding places. The family is still eating and talking in the background. Dean sees a radio and goes to it. Jamie and Sam follows. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

Jamie crosses her arms. "Nothing good. I hope it wasn't who I think it was."

"I don't know but we are taking the escalator back downstairs." Dean hits the radio. "Cas!"

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?"

"Like you've lost your mind."

Dean gives him an exasperated look. "Cas talked to me before using this phone-home radio thing, so I— Cas!"

Jamie is shaking her head, watching them. "Boys…" They turn and look at her. She throws her head back. "CASTIEL!" The TV behind them starts to flicker.

"I can hear you." Dean, Jamie, and Sam move over to the TV. They can see Castiel but the picture rolls and is filled with static. His voice fades in and out and is sometimes distorted.

"Cas. Hey! So I, uh, I found them but, but something just happened. There was this weird beam of light."

"Don't go into the light."

Dean snickers. "Okay. Thanks, Carol Ann. What was it?"

"Not what: whom. Zachariah. He's searching for you."

Jamie sighs. "I knew it." She walks away from them and looks into the kitchen.

Sam glances at her and then at Cas. "And if he finds us?"

"You can't say yes to Michael and Lucifer if you're dead so Zachariah needs to return you to your bodies."

"Great! Problem solved."

"No. You don't understand. You, hm. You're behind the Wall. This is a rare opportunity."

Dean looks at the tv. "For what?"

"You need to find an angel. His name is Joshua."

"Hey, man, no offense but we are kind of ass full of angels, okay. You find him."

"He can't." Dean and Sam look over at Jamie whose is walking back towards them.

"I can't return to heaven."

"So what's so important about Joshua?" Sam asks.

"The rumour is; he talks to God."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "And, so?"

Jamie uncrosses her arms and looks at Dean. "So? Cas just said he talks to God!"

"You think maybe—just maybe—we should find out what the hell God has been saying?"

"Jeez. Touchy."

"Please. I just need you to follow the road."

"What road?"

Jamie's eyes widen. "The Axis Mundi? Is that what it is, Cas?"

"Yes."

Dean looks at his sister. "What's the-

"The Axis Mundi? It's a path that runs through heaven." Jamie explains.

"Different people see it as different things. For you, it's two-lane asphalt. The road will lead you to the Garden. You'll find Joshua there. And Joshua… can take us to God." The pictures starts to break up badly. "The Garden. Quick. Hurry."

The TV dies. Sam takes a deep breath. They turn to each other. "So... What do you think?"

"Where's the Impala?" Jamie turns around and goes towards the door.

"Okay. Dean?"

"I think we hit the yellow bricks; find this Joshua cat."

Sam looks surprised. "What, really?"

"What? You don't?"

"No, uh. I'm just surprised you do. Last time I checked you wanted to break God's nose, now you think he can help?"

"He's the only one who can. I mean, come on, Sam. We are royally boned. So prayer? The last hope of a desperate man."

Dean opens the front door followed closely by Sam. Jamie is standing on the porch. They stop next to Jamie and, look around. There's nothing but forest where the road used to be.

"Wasn't there a street out here?" Sam asks.

"There was." Jamie mutters.

They walk back into the hallway. Dean starts looking around.

"Dean. What are you doing?"

"Looking for a road."

Sam puts his hands on his hips. "You…" Dean opens the closet under the stairs. "You think the road is in a closet?"

Jamie shrugs. "It's worth a shot."

Dean turns on a light. "We're in heaven, Sam, okay? I mean, our memories are coming true. Cas is on TV. Finding a road in a closet would be pretty much the most…" he sees something on the floor. "normal thing to happen to us today. There is a small Hot Wheels set on the floor. Dean makes a face and bends down to it.

"What?"

Dean picks up a blue car. "I used to have one of these… when I was a kid."

Jamie watches him. "Wait a minute…" Dean puts the car on the track and sets it in motion.

When Jamie looks up again, Dean's position has changed. He is now wearing sneakers with one shoelace untied, and a T-shirt and a flannel button-up. The leather jacket is gone. Sam is back in his normal hunter clothes: jeans, red button up shirt, green utility jacket. Jamie is back in jeans and is wearing her black utility jacket.

"That was the road?" Sam looks at his sister. Jamie nods.

"Yes."

"I guess." Dean looks around and we see that they are in a room suitable for a young boy. They stand up. "Kind of trippy, right?"

"Yeah." Sam looks at Dean's shirt. "More trippy. Um. Apparently, you 'wuv hugs'."

Jamie grins. "Aww, Deanie…"

Dean covers his T-shirt. "Shut up."

Sam and Jamie laugh. They look around until Dean realizes something. "Wait a minute. I know where we are."

"Where?"

"We're home." Jamie says.

"Dean…" Dean, Jamie, and Sam turn to the doorway. Mary appears, looking young and pretty in a tight, white dress. "Hey, Dean. You hungry?" She looks beautiful and neither of the boys nor Jamie knows what to do.

Dean is sitting at the kitchen table. Mary is pouring him a glass of milk. He has a sandwich in front of him. He smiles at her. She looks at him. "You want the crust cut off?"

"Yeah. I'd love that."

"Mom?" There's no response. Dean looks at Sam then at Mary. She looks at him but not at Sam.

"Mom." Jamie tries. Again there is no response.

"I guess this is not your memory, guys. Sorry." Dean tells them.

"Dean, uh. We should… go." Sam says.

Jamie nods. "We have to keep looking for the road."

"Just… just give me a minute, okay?"

"Dean…"

"Sam. Please. One minute."

Sam looks at Jamie who sighs. "Let him have it."

Sam nods reluctantly. Mary ruffles Dean's hair as she moves away from the table. The phone rings and Dean turns to watch her answer it. "Hello? … No, John. … We're not having this conversation again. … Think about what? … You've two boys and a daughter at home. …"

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. "I remember this. Mom and Dad were fighting and then he moved out for a couple days."

Sam looks surprised. "Dad always said they had the perfect marriage."

"Did he?" Jamie sounds unimpressed.

"It wasn't perfect until after she died." Dean says gravely.

"Fine. Then don't. … There's nothing more to talk about." Mary hangs up the phone and turns away from the table. She sniffs as if she's fighting back tears.

Sam watches. "What happens next?"

Dean goes to her and hugs her. "It's okay, Mom. Dad still loves you. I love you, too. I'll never leave you."

Sam looks enlightened. Jamie starts crying. Sam puts his arm around her. Mary and Dean break apart. She cups his cheek in her hands. "You are my little angel." She smiles. "How 'bout some pie? Okay." She moves away to get the pie and Dean goes to where Sam and Jamie are waiting. Sam shakes his head sadly.

"What?"

"I just never realized how long you've been cleaning up Dad's messes."

Dean frowns. "Whatever."

Jamie moves away. "Let's keep moving."

They search the house. Opening cupboards and drawers. Sam finds a postcard that says Route 66. Dean and Jamie walk over to see what he's found. "I've seen this somewhere before."

"Where?"

Suddenly there is a wall covered with postcards all from along Route 66. Dean steps in front of them and he's wearing adult clothes again, although he's got on his blue utility jacket and not the leather one. Sam's clothes have changed as well: plaid shirt, slightly different coat. Jamie is wearing her leather jacket and she has a long sleeve shirt instead of a tank top on underneath, and her jeans are grey. They're in a trailer, and there's garbage, beer and pizza on the table by the couch.

"Where are we?" Dean asks.

Jamie looks around. "What is this dump?"

"No way." A golden retriever enters the room. Sam bends down excitedly. "Bones! Hey, c'mere! C'mere!" Dean looks on as the dog licks Sam's face. "Hey, hey, hey, hey…"

"Bones?"

Dean and Jamie look at each other. "Bones, really?"

"Yeah. Bones was my dog. Hey." Sam stands up and goes to a cheap coffee table. He opens up a pizza box.

"Your… your dog?"

"Yeah." Sam sits on the couch, pulling pizza out of the box. Bones is right beside him, tail wagging. Dean is looking around, not happy.

"Is this Flagstaff?"

Sam looks happy. "Yeah." He pets Bones. "Hey, boy."

"This is a good memory for you?"

Jamie looks at Sam and then turns to Dean. "What happen in Flagstaff?"

Sam laughs. "Yeah. I mean, I was on my own for two weeks. I lived on Funyuns and Mr. Pibb." He feeds Bones some of his pizza.

Dean is unimpressed. "Wow."

"What?"

"Well, you don't remember, do you? You ran away on my watch. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were dead. And when Dad came home…" Dean cringes.

"He run away on you?" Jamie watches Dean and then turns to her twin. "Sam!"

Sam looks guilty. Dean looks upset before he turns away. Jamie crosses her arms and shakes her head.

"Dean, look, I'm sorry. I never thought about it like that."

"Forget it. Let's roll." Dean strides out of the room with Jamie, leaving Sam behind. He gives Bones a final treat before standing up to follow Dean. Bones follows him so he bends down to give the dog a last pet.

"Stay. Bones-y, stay." He walks out the door.

Dean, Jamie and Sam walk into the living room of an apartment furnished with black leather and red curtains. Dean and Sam look at each other. Only Jamie's clothes have changed. She's wearing a black skirt, mesh leggings, and a black tank top under her leather jacket. Jamie walks into the middle of the room and picks up a book off the coffee table.

" Jamie? Is this your memory?" Dean asks.

"Yeah. This is my apartment. Mine and…well…I spent hours on this couch making salt rounds, reading Latin, prepping for hunts." She gestures to the book. "This is one of the earliest books on demon possession every written. "

Sam walks over to look at the book. "Really?"

"Yeah. I started renting this place after I left school. I was finally free here. I came and went as I pleased. I could finally live in the life, ya know?" She gets a book off the shelf and shows Sam the knife hidden in the middle of it. "I had everything hidden all over this place."

Dean picks up a picture frame from the table. It's Jamie and a younger looking Andrew. "You and Andrew?"

Jamie goes over and takes the picture frame. "Yeah. This was taken after our first hunt together. "

"Jace?" The door opens and Andrew walks in. "There you are."

"AJ! " She goes over and hugs him. He hugs her back.

"Hey. Relax, I didn't get beat up that badly. "

"Bad enough. You scared the hell out of me."

Sam turns to Dean. "Oh no. I know that look."

"What look?"

"The look he's giving her."

Andrew takes a box out of his pocket. "Hey Jamie, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"I know now isn't the best time, with your brother and everything, but…" Andrew gets down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh no. " Jamie moves back to Sam and Dean.

Dean looks at her. "You never told me he proposed to you."

"Did you say yes?" Sam asks.

Jamie nods. "Not that it mattered. He died the next day. And then Dean went to hell."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam walk out of the apartment. Where they had walked into daylight, it's now night. They meet in the middle of the street across from an old house with a wrap-around porch. When they turn to look at the place they'd just left, it's gone. Jamie is back in jeans and her utility jacket. Sam obviously remembers where they are. It takes Dean a moment but he also figures it out. Jamie looks confused.

"Whose memory is this?"

"No idea." Sam says, though he's obviously lying. He sniffs. "Alright, come on. Guys… Road. God. Remember?"

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This?" Dean looks at Sam accusingly. "This is the night you ditched us for Stanford, isn't it? This is your idea of heaven? Wow." He laughs painfully. "This was one of the worst nights of my life."

Jamie frowns. "Guys…"

"I can't control this stuff."

Dean, who had turned away, turns back to face Sam. "Seriously? I mean this is a happy memory for you?"

Sam shrugs. "I don't know. I mean, I was on my own. I finally got away from Dad."

Dean turns away."Yeah, he wasn't the only one you got away from."

Jamie shakes her head, also turning away. "Dad got rid of the wrong kid."

"Jamie, it's not like that." He looks at her and then at Dean. "Dean, I'm sorry. I just, uh…"

"I know. You didn't, you didn't think of it like that."

"Dean!"

"Boys."

"C'mon! Your heaven is somebody else's Thanksgiving. Okay. It's bailing on your family. What do you want me to say?"

"Man, I never got the crusts cut off my PB & J. I just don't look at family the way you do. Jamie doesn't either. Dad abandoned her, she barely remembers us until a few years ago."

"Yeah, but I'm family…"

"I know…"

"Me too…"

"I mean, we're supposed to be a team. It's supposed to be the three of us against the world, right?"

"Dean, it is!"

"Yes."

Dean pauses. "Is it?"

Sam looks devastated but before he can answer a searchlight hits them. They look up. "Oh God." Jamie mutters.

They start running toward the trees at the side of the road. "Go! Go!" He pushes his siblings in front of him.

They run through the darkened woods eventually jumping over a log and hiding behind it. They are breathing hard. A man is walking after them, in nice, shiny dress shoes. It is Zachariah. "Wow. Running from angels. On foot. In heaven. With out-of-the-box thinking like that I'm surprised you haven't stopped the Apocalypse already." Zachariah snaps his fingers and it's daytime. "Guys. What's the problem? I just want to send you back to Earth, that's all." Sam Jamie and Dean peek over the log. Zachariah is standing a few yards away with his back to them. "I mean, that is, after I tear you a cosmos of new ones. You're on my turf now. And by the time I through with you, you're going to be begging to say yes." Dean Jamie and Sam take off running. Zachariah turns and sees them. He smiles. Dean Jamie and Sam are running flat out. They stop abruptly because Zachariah is in front of them. "Guys, c'mon. You can run but you can't run."

Dean Jamie and Sam turn around and run back the way they came. "Jamie, can you angel proof in heaven?" Sam asks.

Jamie looks at him as she runs. "What do you want me to do, draw a sigil on a tree with spit?"

This time they come to a halt when confronted by a slim figure in a colourful mask and a gold cape. The figure lifts one finger to his mouth to indicate they should be silent. "Shh." He waves them forward. "Hurry! This way." He leads them to a small wooden shack. He scribbles some symbols on the rusted door then opens it and runs inside. Dean Jamie and Sam follow.

"Wait. Who are you?" Sam asks.

The room is much bigger than it should be. Even though it's dim, tables and chairs are visible in the light from windows on the far side. The figure pulls of his mask and his cape. "Buenos dias, bitches."

"Ash?" Dean asks.

Jamie looks excited. "No way."

Ash claps his hands twice and the lights come on. He spreads out his arms. "Welcome to my blue heaven." Dean looks around stunned. Sam smiles. Jamie crosses her arms. They're in Ellen's Roadhouse.

Music plays on the jukebox. Dean continues to look around. "Good God, the Roadhouse. It even smells the same."

Ash pickes up his cape and mask. "Bud, blood and beer nuts. It's the best smell in the world." He walks behind the bar and snaps his fingers. "How 'bout a cold one? Up here? No hang-over."

Dean Jamie and Sam sit on the bar stools. "So… no offense…" Sam begins.

"How did a dirt bag like me end up in a place like this? I've been saved, man. I was my congregation's number one snake handler."

Sam smiles. "And you said this was your heaven?"

"Yup! My own… personal…" Ash shotguns his beer while the Winchesters watch. He burps.

"And when the angels jumped us? We were…"

"In your heaven."

"So there're two heavens?"

Jamie shakes her head. "No."

"No. More like a hundred billion. So, no worries, it'll take those angels boys a minute to catch up."

Dean is completely confused. "What?"

"See, you gotta stop thinking of heaven as one place. It's more like a butt-load of places all crammed together. Like Disneyland except without all the anti-Semitism."

Dean and Sam still look confused. Jamie smirks.

"Disneyland?" Sam asks.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. See you got Winchesterland." He holds up his hands to indicate the bar. "Ashland." He points all around outside the bar. "A whole mess of everybody-else-lands. Put them all together: heaven. Right? At the centre of it all? Is the Magic Kingdom. The Garden."

Dean nods, finally understanding. "So everybody gets a little slice of paradise."

"Pretty much. A few people share—special cases. What not."

"What do you mean 'special'?"

"Aw, you know. Like, uh, soul-mates." Silence greets his statement. Dean and Sam don't look at each other. Jamie shakes her head and puts her face in her hands. "Anyway. Most people can't leave their own private Idaho's."

Dean smirks. "But you ain't most people."

"Nope. They ain't got my skills. Jamie you, being a prophetess, can go where you please."

"Prophetess in exile."

"Doesn't matter. You still got the magic go juice in ya somewhere. Anyway, that's why you could move yourself and your brothers through your heaven and theirs. See, you got your own little private spot in heaven. It's only these two who share."

"Wait, I moved us?"

"Yup. Hell, I've been all over. Johnny Cash. André the Giant." He turns to Sam. "Einstein. Sam, that man can mix a White Russian. Hell, the other day? I found Mallanāga Vātsyāyana."

"Who?"

"He wrote the Kama Sutra." Ash looks at Jamie. "Huh, Jamie, that boy's heaven? Ah, sweaty. Confusing."

"Spare me."

Dean looks impressed. "All this from a guy who used to sleep on a pool table."

"Yeah. Now that I'm dead, I'm living, man, a whole lot more."

"So how'd you find us?" Sam asks. Dean and Jamie lean in, interested.

"I rigged up my very own," He pulls a laptop from under the bar. "holy-rolling police scanner." He hits the power button and it starts up, displaying a mess of sound graphs and making an annoying piercing sound, at least to Sam and Dean. Jamie mutters actual words. "That's angels."

"That's Enochian." Jamie says without missing a beat.

"Yup, I'm fluent." He turns it off and puts in back under the counter. "I heard that you were up. Of course I had to come find you. Again."

Dean looks surprised. "Again?"

"This ain't the first time here. I mean, you guys die more than anyone I've ever met."

Dean is even more surprised. "Really."

"Don't sound so shocked. Our line of work." Jamie drinks her beer.

"Ah, yeah… you don't remember. God! Angels. Must've Windexed your brain."

"So, uh. I mean, have you found anybody else? Ellen and Jo?"

Ash is taken aback. "Ellen and Jo are dead?"

Dean looks upset and doesn't answer. Ash looks to Sam. Sam looks guilty and sad. He turns to Jamie. "Long story. It's been a couple months now. I'm sorry. "

Ash takes a minute to compose himself. "Um, hmm. Uh, they went down fighting?"

Sam nods. "Yeah. 'Til the end."

"Yeah, a lot of good it did." Dean says bitterly.

Jamie looks at him and then looks at Ash. "So, how about our parents? Have found them?"

"I've been looking all over for John Winchester, Mary too, but so far: nada. I'm sorry. But hey! There is somebody that wants to jaw with you. Hold up." Ash leaves the bar and goes into the back room that used to be his. There are symbols on it like the ones he chalked onto the door of the shack. It only takes moments before he's returning with Pamela Barnes. Dean, Jamie, and Sam look happily surprised. She looks happy, and takes off her sunglasses, revealing that she has her eyes back.

"Pamela!"

"Nice to see you boys again."

Ash fake shivers. "Ooo. Oh and Jamie." He points across the room. There's a man in his late twenties dressed in jeans, a dark t-shirt, and a brown utility jacket, standing there. He has blonde hair cut in a short faux hawk and clear blue eyes. Around his neck is an iron clad crucifix.

"AJ." Jamie whispers. "AJ!" She runs over and hugs him. "AJ, I am so so sorry for everything."

Andrew wraps his arms around her. "Shh. Shh. It's okay. I never left you, Jace. I've been watching out for you." He pulls her back and smiles, looking into her eyes.

Jamie shakes her head, trying not to cry. "I wish it was different. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop her. I wasn't strong enough."

He grips her shoulder. "Jamie, when I asked you to marry me I told you to only say yes if you promised to remain true to yourself." They kiss. "I love you."

Sam, and Ash are sitting at the bar. Ash is working the laptop. "So this is how you get around up here?" Sam asks.

"Hm, more or less. It's awesome to finally have an application—a practical application—for string theory."

Jamie comes over with Andrew. "You never cease to amaze me." She tells Ash.

Dean and Pamela sitting at one of the tables in the raised section. "So!"

"So." Pamela reaches over and swats him lightly on the head. "That's for getting me killed."

"Yeah. That's… probably less than I deserve. Makes you feel any better we got Ash and AJ killed too."

At the bar, Andrew nods, his arms around Jamie. "It's alright, Dean. It wasn't your fault. It was Lilith." He looks down at Jamie, and squeezes her.

Ash raises his hand in a rock salute. "I'm cool with it." He snaps his fingers.

"He's cool with it. So you… you good?"

"I'm good. Really. Remember my death scene? Gut shot. Coughing blood. You told me I was going someplace better."

"I was lying." Dean shoots back.

"You were right! My heaven? It is one long show at the Meadowlands. It's amazing! You should see it."

He nods his head. "Yeah."

"You don't believe me."

"No, I do, it's just, you know. Spending eternity trapped in your own little universe while the angels run the show, that's lonely. You know. That's not Nirvana. That's the Matrix."

"I don't know. Attic's still better than the basement."

"Yeah, but…" He holds his hand out. "You know this place feels real, but it's Memorex. Real is down there."

"Yeah, well, close enough. Look, Dean, I'm happy. I'm at peace."

"What? Are you trying to sell me a time share? I mean, what's with the pitch?"

She chuckles. "I know that Michael wants to take you out for a test drive."

"Pamela…"

"Just saying. What happens if you play ball with them? Worst case."

"People die." Jamie says from the bar.

"A lot of people die." Dean echoes.

"And then they come here. Is that really so bad? Look. Maybe… you don't have to fight it so hard. That's all I'm trying to say."

Sam Jamie Andrew and Ash turn on their seats, stopping whatever Dean might have said in reply. "Dean." Jamie says to get his attention.

"Found a short cut to the Garden." Sam says as he gets up.

Ash gives them a thumbs up. Pamela returns it. "Oh yeah." Underneath a 'Come In We're Open' sign, Ash draws another sigil-formula. "All Access Pass to the Magic Kingdom."

Dean is standing behind him, watching. "Good." Ash turns to look at him. "Not good?"

"That Zachary fella's going to be watching every road to the Garden."

Andrew walks up and stands next to him. He's holding Jamie's hand. "It won't be easy for you."

Jamie nods. "We're gonna have to be our guard at all times. His power is unmatched here."

Behind Dean and Jamie, Pamela is engulfed in Sam's hug. "Watch your ass." Sam nods and leaves. She turns to Jamie. "You look after these two. Keep them safe." She hugs her and then turns to Dean. "And Dean." Dean reaches out for his hug but Pamela has other ideas. She pulls his head down for a kiss. The first one's short. The second one's longer. "Yup. Just how I imagined." Pamela taps his cheek and chuckles. Eventually, Dean turns back to where Ash is finishing his formula. Ash stands up.

"Ah, gentlemen. I don't mean to be a downer or anything but… I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

Dean glances back at Pamela and winks. She smiles back. He turns back to Ash. "Well, keep a sixer on ice for us."

Ash nods. "Yeah."

Andrew grabs unto Jamie and pulls her in for a kiss. They share a long kiss, and he slides something on her finger. "Tell Castiel I'm rooting for him. And that I'm okay with this." He holds her with one hand over her stomach.

"You're okay with what?" She asks, looking up at him.

"You'll see." He pulls her in for one last hug and then looked towards Dean and Sam. "Deuce, Sammy, you keep Jace out of trouble. Good luck, guys."

Ash opens the door and they walk through, Sam first, Jamie second, Dean third. They walk into the house in Lawrence. It's dark, empty and kind of spooky. A train's whistle can be heard in the background. "Guys…" Jamie walks forward, her face twisted in horror.

Dean looks around. "What the… Why we back home?"

"I don't know. So what are we going to do?"

"Keep looking for the road again, I guess."

"Dean." Jamie points. Behind Dean, Mary appears. She's in her nightgown, the same one she was wearing the night she was killed.

"What?" He turns and sees Mary.

"Honey. Why are you up?"

'Look. I'm-I'm sorry. I love you but you're not real and we don't have time—"

"Did you have another nightmare? Tell me."

"I gotta go."

"Then how 'bout I tell you my nightmare, Dean? The night I burned." As they watch, blood appears on the nightgown above Mary's stomach. Jamie reaches forward to grab Dean's arm and back to grab Sam's.

Dean is shaky. "Jamie, Sammy, let's get out of here."

"Don't you walk away from me." Dean stops. "I never loved you. You were my burden. I was shackled to you. Look what it got me." She blinks and her eyes turn yellow. Mary is staring at Dean with her yellow eyes. Dean is frozen in place.

"Dean."

"Dean."

Dean finally turns to Sam and Jamie. He looks devastated. Then the lights in the house change color, taking on an unhealthy green hue. The room changes around them; the doors are gone. Mary blinks and her eyes are her own again. "The worst was the smell. The pain, well. What can you say about your skin bubbling off? But the smell was so… You know, for a second I thought I'd left a pot roast burning in the oven. But… it was my meat." Dean moves away from Mary, going to the wall to investigate where the doorway used to be. It's bricked over. "And then, finally, I was dead. The one silver lining was that at least I was away from you." She takes a big breath. "Everybody leaves you, Dean. You noticed? Mommy. Jamie. Daddy. Even Sam."

"Dean, don't listen to her. It's not really Mom." Jamie says, stepping forward. Sam looks very upset at her words but he doesn't say anything. He pulls Jamie back a step.

"You ever ask yourself why? Maybe it's not them. Maybe, it's you." She chuckles.

Jamie turns to Sam. "It's Zachariah."

Sam's eyes widen. "He's here. You can you see him?"

"Yeah."

Sam nods. "Do it."

Sam lets go of her hand. She spreads her arms out and tilts her head back. "Zachariah, ostende te in nomine Deus!"

"Easy now, kitten." Zachariah walks in behind Mary while she smiles in evil glee.

"Bastard." Jamie sneers putting her arms down. Sam moves in front of her.

"You are good." Zachariah tells her.

"You did this." Sam says, accusingly.

"And I'm just getting started. I mean, guys. Did you really think you could just sneak past me into Mission Control?"

"You son of a bitch." Sam sneers. Very large angel goons appear behind Jamie Sam and Dean, holding them easily in place.

"You know, I'd say the same thing about you, Sam but I have actually grown quite fond of your mother. Or at least the Blessed Memory of her."

Jamie turns away and looks over her shoulder at the angel holding her. "I am a prophet of the Lord, you will unhand me!"

"Do not harm the prophet…Unless you want Michael to come down." Zachariah snickers and moves Mary's hair then bends down and kisses her neck. Dean has to look away. Jamie struggles. "I think we're going to be logging a lot of quality time together. I've discovered she's quite the.. MILF."

"You can gloat all you want, you dick, you're still bald." Dean says.

"In heaven, I have six wings and four faces, one of whom is a lion. You see this because you're…" Zachariah breaks off to run his fingers down Mary's arm. It's Sam who can't watch this time. "limited."

Jamie struggles against the angel holding her. "I see you, Zachariah, you will not prevail against me."

"You are exiled, Jamie. You know longer have his favor. You are just as weak as your brothers." Zachariah snaps his fingers and the image of Mary disappears. "Let's brass tack this, shall we?"

"You gonna ball-gag us until we say yes? Huh, yeah, I've heard that one too." Zachariah steps up to Dean and slams his fist in Dean's stomach. Dean folds over with a pained groan.

"Dean!" Jamie struggles. "Son of bitch. Castiel! Castiel! In nomine Deus accerso te! Castiel, exaudi vocem meam. In sunt lucem ego tibi præcipio!" She yells looking up toward the sky.

"Castiel cannot help you, Jamie. You can cry for him all you want. I'm going to do a lot more than that to your brother. I've cleared my schedule. Get him up." Zachariah punches Dean again. Sam struggles against the angel holding him. Jamie raises her eyes upward.

"Loquitur Deus, exaudi vocem meam audi clamorem…" She mouths so that Zachariah cannot hear her.

"Let me tell you something. I was on the fast track once. Employee of the month, every month, forever. I would walk these halls and people would AVERT THEIR EYES!" The house rumbles and shakes. Sam swallows hard. "I HAD ''RESPECT''! And then they assigned me you. Now look at me." He chuckles unhappily. "I can't close the deal on a couple of flannel-wearing maggots? Everybody's laughing at me… and they're right to do it. So! Say yes, don't say yes; I'm still going to take it out of your asses. It's personal now, Winchesters, and the last person in the history of creation you want as your enemy is me. And I'll tell you why. Lucifer may be strong, but I'm… ''petty''. I'm going to be the angel on your shoulder for the rest of eternity." Jamie sneers.

"Excuse me. Sir?" Zachariah turns to face the newcomer. A slight, older, black man.

"I'm in a meeting." He gestures to the Winchesters.

"I'm sorry. I need to speak to those three."

"Excuse me?"

"It's a bad time, I know, but I'm afraid I have to insist."

"You don't get to insist jack-squat."

The newcomer doesn't back down, just stares at Zachariah. It seems to unnerve him. "No, you're right. But the boss does. His orders."

"You're lying."

"I wouldn't lie about this. Look, fire me if you want. Sooner or later, he's going to come back home and you know how he is with that whole wrath thing."

Zachariah looks at Dean Jamie and Sam. He looks back at Joshua but Joshua doesn't back down. There's the fluttering of wings and Zachariah and his goons have disappeared. "Joshua. Pax cum vobis." Jamie says.

"Et cum spiritus tua." Jamie kneels down. Dean and Sam move closer to her, staring at the new angel. Jamie gets up.

They are no longer in the house with its creepy green lighting. They are in a verdant, green garden—a conservatory. They are surrounded with the sounds of a forest. They walk down stone steps, approaching Joshua. "This is heaven's Garden?" Sam asks.

"Indeed it is." Jamie looks around.

"It's-it's nice… ish. I guess." Dean says as they follow Joshua.

"You see what you want to here. For some it's God's throne room; for others it's Eden. For Jamie as a prophet it's all of the above. You two, I believe it's the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. You came here on a field trip."

Sam nods in acceptance and remembrance. "So you're Joshua."

He nods. "I'm Joshua."

"So, you talk to God."

"Mostly, He talks to me."

"Well, we need to speak to Him. It's important."

"Where is he?" Dean interrupts.

"On Earth."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know."

Dean and Sam look at each other. "Do you know where on Earth?"

"No, sorry. We don't exactly speak face-to-face."

"No." Jamie mutters, closing her eyes as she turns away.

Dean glances towards his sister and then at Joshua. "I… I don't get it. God's not talking to nobody so…"

"Why's he talking to me. I sometimes think it's because I can sympathize—gardener to gardener—and, between us, I think he gets lonely."

Dean is disgusted. "Well, my heart's breaking for him."

"Well, can you at least get him a message for us?" Sam asks, interrupting Dean.

"Actually, he has a message for you. Back off."

"What?"

"He knows already. Everything you want to tell him."

Jamie glances at her brothers. "What about me? I thought cut myself off from Heaven, but…"

Joshua looks at her. "You are not Michael's prophetess, or Zachariah's or anyone else's save God's. A prophetess of the Lord, not the angels. They may no longer speak to you, but you retain the gift as long as you do not fall. How else would you be able to summon angels at your bidding?"

Dean shakes his head. "Okay. But…"

"He knows what the angels are doing, Dean. He knows that the Apocalypse has begun. He just doesn't think it's his problem."

This stuns Dean. "Not his problem?"

"God saved you already. He put you on that plane. He awakened your gift." He looks at Jamie. "He brought back Castiel. He granted you Salvation in heaven" he turns to face Sam directly "and after everything you've done too. It's more than he's intervened in a long time. He's finished. Magic amulet or not, you won't be able to find him."

Dean steps forward. "But he can stop it. He can stop all of it."

"I suppose he could but he won't."

"Why not?"

Jamie sighs. "Because it's not his will." She whispers.

"Why does he allow evil in the first place. You could drive yourself nuts asking questions like that."

"So he's just going to sit back and watch the world burn?"

" I know how important this was to you, Dean. I'm sorry."

Dean is starting to get emotional. Sam and Jamie notice. Jamie moves closer to him. "Forget it. Just another dead-beat dad with a bunch of excuses, right. I'm used to that. I'll muddle through."

"Except… you don't know if you can, this time. You can't kill the Devil, and you're losing faith, in yourself, your brother, your sister, and now this?" Jamie and Sam look at Dean. They're realizing just how desperate and depressed Dean really is. Jamie wraps her arms around Dean's arm. "God was your last hope. I just… I wish I could tell you something different."

"How do we know you're telling the truth." Sam asks, concerned.

"You think that I would lie?"

"It's just that… you're not exactly the first angel we've met."

"He's not lying." Jamie rests her head on Dean's shoulder.

"I'm rooting for you Winchesters! I wish I could do more to help you, I do! But, I just trim the hedges."

"So what now?" Dean asks.

"You go home again. I'm afraid this time, won't be like the last. This time, God wants you" he lifts a hand " to remember."

There's a whooshing sound and a bright light, it blinds them. The sound of a tractor-trailer accelerating is heard. Dean Jamie and Sam are lying on their beds, lifeless. The whooshing sound is heard and Sam's eyes open. He sucks in a huge breath and sits up in shock. He pants. The whooshing is heard again and Jamie pushes herself up. She touches her stomach and looks at the blood. A third time it's heard and Dean sits up on his bed. He coughs and looks down at his chest.

Sam turns over and stares at his siblings. "You two alright?" He looks down at the blood on his torso.

Dean glances at him. "Define alright."

"They ruined my favorite shirt." Jamie mutters.

Dean reaches over and picks up his cell phone. He stands up as he dials and Jamie and Sam see his back is covered in blood from the exit wounds.

Castiel, looking lost and without hope, leans against the divider while Dean Jamie and Sam pack up their gear in the background. Sam turns to Jamie. "Are you leaving or coming with us?"

"I'm coming with you."

"About damn time." Sam chuckles. Jamie scoffs.

"Maybe… maybe Joshua was lying." Castiel says. The Winchesters look at him. Dean already has on his jacket; his bag is packed. Jamie puts her leather jacket on and shakes her head.

"I don't think he was, Cas. I'm sorry." Sam sighs.

Dean watches as Castiel moves into the entryway. Castiel looks up. "You son of a bitch. I believed in…"Dean looks as if he wants to approach Castiel. He puts his arm over Jamie's shoulders instead. Castiel searches above for any sign, anything… There is nothing. He turns back to the Winchesters, looking at Dean. He pulls the amulet from his pocket. "I don't need this anymore." He tosses it to Dean who shakes it out. "It's worthless."

"Cas." Jamie steps towards him. Castiel turns away.

"Cas. Wait." The sound of wings is heard and Castiel is gone. Sam tosses his jacket on the bed angrily. Dean hasn't looked up from the amulet in his hands. "We'll find another way. We can still stop all this Dean."

Dean finally looks up. "How?"

"I don't know, but we'll find it. You and me and Jamie, we'll find it."

Jamie nods. "There must be another way. There has to be."

Dean doesn't look like he believes them and they know it. He picks up his duffel and walks past Sam and Jamie without saying anything. He doesn't even look at them. At the door he pauses and drops the amulet in the trash. He opens the door and leaves.

Behind him, Sam takes a deep breath. He looks sad, but determined as he follows Dean out. Jamie pauses for a minute. She stops at the garbage can and curls her fingers. Andrew's ring is still on her hand. It's not a diamond, but a band with the words "non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es." The amulet flies into her hands. She gasps, a vision playing before her eyes. She sees a young boy, about 3 years old playing in a park by the water. He laughs as he runs towards her and she sees that he had dark hair and blue eyes. Dean's amulet is around his neck. She blinks as it ends, realizing there is a way to stop the Apocalypse, and looks down at the necklace. She puts it in her pocket before following after her brothers.


	29. 517 99 Problems

It's dark and raining outside. Jamie is standing outside a dingy motel, with Castiel who looks unsteady on his feet. Jamie blinks several times and then half drags Castiel up to the door and knocks. Sam answers and Jamie pulls Castiel through the door.

"I got your message. It was long, your message. And I find the sound of your voice grating." Castiel comments as Jamie slams the door behind him.

"We have problems, Sam." She says to her twin, squeezing the water out of her hair.

"What's wrong with him?" Sam points to the angel. Jamie rolls her eyes. He looks at Castiel. "Wait. Are you…drunk?"

"No!…Yes."

Sam's eyes widen, he looks at his sister who scoffs and then back to Castiel. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I found a liquor store." He says gruffly.

"And?"

"And I drank it."

"What?"

Jamie rubs her eyes and turns to her brother. "Just…Don't ask."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Well, where have you been?" He asks his sister.

She gestures to the angel. "Keeping his ass out of jail."

"Why'd you call me?" Castiel asks, interrupting their conversation. He sways a little. Sam steadies him against the wall.

"Whoa. There you go. Easy. Are you okay?"

Castiel gestures to Sam. He leans in. "Don't ask stupid questions. Tell me what you need."

Sam turns to Jamie yet again and the prophetess shrugs. "T-there have been these—these demon attacks. Massive, right on the edge of town. And we can't figure out why they're— "

Jamie crosses her arms and leans against the wall. Cas leans back. "Any sign of angels?"

"Sort of. They've been speaking to this…"

"Prophet." Jamie says, straightening up.

Cas looks at Jamie and then to Sam. "Who?"

"This girl, Leah Gideon."

"Leah?" Jamie gives Cas a look.

"She's not a prophet." Castiel answers.

"I'm pretty sure she is. Visions, headaches—the whole package."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. She isn't." She tells Sam firmly, dropping her bag on the floor and opening it.

Castiel nods. "The names of _all_ the prophets, they're seared into my brain. Leah Gideon is not one of them."

"Then what is she?"

Jamie takes out an old leather bound book and opens it. She brings the book over to Sam. "She's my enemy." Sam pauses as he reads the entry. Jamie looks around. "Where is Dean?"

A little while later Dean walks into the motel room. Sam and Castiel are sitting on the couch. Jamie rushes to him. "Dean."

"Jamie." He wraps an arm around her, and leans against her. She sees that his shirt is all bloody and gasps softly. Sam looks over at them.

"We went out looking for—"He cuts off and notices the blood. Jamie is patting Dean down for a wound. Sam gets up. "You alright?"

"Yeah. It's—it's not my blood. Paul's dead."

"What?!" Sam exclaims in horror.

"Jane shot him."

Jamie looks at Dean and then over to Castiel. "Cas…"

"It's starting." The angel mutters.

"What's starting?" Dean looks up and then towards the angel. "Where the hell have you been?"

Castiel looks at Dean sarcastically. "On a bender."

Dean stares at his siblings. "Did he—did you say "on a bender?"

Jamie closes her eyes and sighs. "Don't ask."

Sam sighs. "Yeah. He's still pretty smashed."

Castiel holds up his hand in protest. "It is not of import. We need to talk about what's happening here."

"Well I'm all ears." Dean walks over to the sink to wash his hands. Sam sits back down on the couch. Jamie goes over and moves the book she brought. Cas picks up a smaller book.

Sam looks at Dean. "Well, for starters…Leah is not a real prophet."

"Well, what is she, exactly?"

"The whore." Castiel replies without missing a beat.

"Wow. Cas, tell us what you really think."

"Dean." Jamie picks up the book and brings it over to him. The title is "The Whore of Babylon." "She rises when Lucifer walks the earth. "And she shall come, bearing false prophecy." This creature has the power to take a human's form, read minds. Book of Revelation calls her "the Whore of Babylon."

"Well, that's catchy."

Sam nods. "The real Leah was probably killed months ago."

Jamie smirks. "She's also the mortal enemy of "the voice of one crying out in the desert."

Dean's head shoots up. "But that's…that's you."

"Yeah."

"Well then we gotta get you out of here." Jamie, Sam, and Castiel all shake their heads in response. "What about the demons attacking the town?"

"They work for her." Jamie tells him.

"They're under her control." Castiel echoes.

"And the Enochian exorcism?"

Jamie takes the book from Dean. "Is not an exorcism at all. It's a fake."

Castiel grins. "It actually means, "you, um, breed with the mouth of a goat." Dean, Sam, and Jamie are deadpan. Castiel stops smiling. "It's funnier in Enochian."

"So the demons smoking out—that's just a con? Why? What's the endgame?"

Jamie looks at Castiel, and Castiel looks at Dean. "What you just saw—innocent blood spilled in God's name."

Sam sighs. "You heard all that heaven talk. She manipulates people."

"To slaughter and kill and sing preppy little hymns. Awesome." Dean turns away.

Jamie nods. "Her goal is to condemn as many souls to hell as possible."

"And it's…just beginning. She's well on her way to dragging this whole town into the pit."

Sam gets up and goes over to his sister. "Jamie, why is she your enemy, though? I would think since you're supposed to…"

"Narrate the Apocalypse?" Jamie smirks. "It's not that simple." She glances at Dean who moves closer. "I'm neutral in this, yes, but remember that I'm also a prophet, which means I'm bound to Michael and his vessel. The whore is bound to Lucifer, if she kills me, she will become the Voice in my place."

"A demon prophet." Dean says with a scoff. "Alright. So, then, how do we go Pimp of Babylon all over this bitch?"

Jamie nods to Castiel. "Cas."

Castiel disappears and reappears almost as quickly. He puts down a wooden stake on the table in front of the Winchesters. "The whore can be killed with that. It's a stake made from a cypress tree in Babylon."

Sam looks at the stake.

"Great. Let's ventilate her."

Jamie shakes her head. "Not so fast, Dean."

"It's not that easy."

Dean turns to look at Castiel. "'Course not."

"The whore can only be killed by a true Servant of Heaven."

"Servant, like…"

"Not you. Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination." The three of them turn to look at Jamie. Jamie's eyes widen and she puts her hands up, defensively. "You are bound to Michael."

"I'm in exile. You heard what Raphael said, and Zachariah. The angels don't watch over me anymore."

Dean picks up the stake and holds out it out to his sister. "When have you ever run from anything?"

Jamie stares at him for a moment and then reaches out to take the stake. The second her fingers touch the wood she draws back, images flashing before her eyes. She sees herself lunge at Leah, stake the ready. But when she goes to plunge it into the Whore's heart, Leah flings her back, impaling her on a broken table leg. Jamie blinks and gasps, holding her stomach.

"Jamie." Dean grabs unto her. She looks at him. "What happened?"

"She's gonna kill me." Jamie answered.

"We have to find someone else." Jamie is sitting on the couch between Sam and Dean. Castiel is standing in front of them.

"Dean, what if there is no one else?" Sam asks, looking at his brother. "We've got a town corrupted by Lucifer's bitch."

"I don't like this anymore then you do, Dean. But it has to be the prophetess." Castiel tells him.

"Besides, she dies and then Michael or Zach or whoever snaps her back to life in 2 seconds." Jamie, Dean, and Castiel all turn and stare at Sam. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Look, we have to kill the Whore. And if it has to be me, so be it. We've changed my visions before…haven't we?" Dean and Castiel both look away. Jamie gets up slowly. "I'm gonna." She points to the bathroom and goes inside.

Dean and Sam both turn to Castiel. "There has to be someone else." Dean says firmly. "Find someone else."

Castiel disappears.

"What the hell was that?"

Jamie walks back out of the bathroom and stops short seeing Pastor Gideon standing there beside Castiel. "What the hell is this?"

Pastor Gideon turns around and looks at her. "Who are you?" He stares her up and down and then looks at Dean and then back to her. "Are you-"

"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert." She says before realizing. "What the…"

Dean cringes. "Okay. Yeah." He turns to Gideon. "Yeah, they weren't lying about the angel-slash-voice thing. Have a seat, Padre. We got to have a chat." He motions towards his sister. "Jamie."

The pastor is sitting in a chair by the couch where Dean and Sam are seated. Jamie is standing behind them with Castiel. Dean finishes explaining and gestures to the cypress stake. Gideon looks at the cypress stake and shakes his head. "No. She's my daughter."

"I'm sorry, but she's not. She's the thing that killed your daughter."  
"That's impossible."

Sam gives him a sympathetic look. "But it's true. And deep down, you know it."

Jamie shakes her head. "This is ridiculous." She mutters. "I'm not sending someone else to die for me." Castiel wraps his arm around her shoulders.

Dean gives her a look. "Look, we get it—it's too much. But if you don't do this, she's going to kill a lot of people. And damn the rest to hell." Dean picks up the stake and holds it out to him.

"It's just…Why does it have to be me?"

"Because otherwise she's going to kill my sister." Dean answers.

"And, you're a Servant of Heaven." He turns and looks at Castiel whose leaning against the wall. Jamie has her arms around him.

"And you're an angel."

"Poor example of one."

He stares at Castiel and then looks at Jamie. Jamie stares back at him.

Castiel is sitting hunched over outside. Jamie is curled up next to him. He puts his hand over his face. She rubs his shoulder. Dean closes the trunk of the impala, walks around the driver's side, and reaches in an open window. He grabs a bottle of aspirin. "Heads up."

He tosses the bottle to Cas. Cas looks at the bottle. "How many should I take?"

"You? You should probably just down the whole bottle."

Jamie scoffs at Dean's remark.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it. Yeah, I've been there." He gestures to Jamie. "We've been there. I'm a big expert on deadbeat dads. So…Yeah, I get it. I know how you feel."

"How do you manage it?"

"On a good day, you get to kill a whore."

Cas looks up at Dean. He raises an eyebrow. Jamie buries her face in Castiel's shoulder. "Well so instead of just me being screwed now we're all screwed."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Just stay behind me, Jamie."

Castiel nods. "One look and she'll try to kill you."

"Right." She looks up at Dean. "Good thing I have Michael's vessel to protect me."

Dean looks away.

Last that night at the church Leah is looking into a mirror in the wardrobe and shows her true face. She shuts the door revealing Castiel. The angel grabs Leah and holds her for Gideon who is behind her. "Daddy! Don't hurt me!"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie rush in. "Shut up, bitch!" Jamie remarks, standing in front of her brothers. "Gideon, now!"

Gideon hesitates, Leah takes advantage and chants in Enochian, putting a spell on Castiel. "_Pizin noco iad._"

"No!" Jamie yells.

"Aah!" Castiel cries out in pain and lets go. Leah raises both hands and uses telekinesis to push away Gideon. She turns to Sam, Dean, and Jamie. She raises her hands again and pushes Sam and Dean back but Jamie stands put. Jamie holds her own hands out.

"Praecipio vobis per ira caelitum…" Leah cries out in pain. Jamie walks towards her, picking up the stake. "Timebis me, ego vox de caelo."

Castiel cries out in pain again, breaking Jamie's concentration. Leah shoves Jamie backward and she falls into Sam and Dean. Leah runs off while they get up. Gideon grabs the stake and follows her.

"Gideon! Wait! No!" Sam yells. He, Dean and Jamie get up to follow him. Dean shoves Jamie back.

"Jamie, stay with Cas!"

Castiel is groaning on the ground, bloody at the mouth. Jamie stares at Dean and then hurries over and kneels down beside him. She puts her hands on either side of his head. "Vocem meam audi redeunt in lumen." Cas coughs. Jamie holds him still.

"Go!" He yells, pushing her away from him. He passes out. Jamie gets up and hurries out of the room.

Sam tackles one of the men before he can light the kerosene, and then throws the lighter across the room. Dean punches out another one of the men. Leah knocks Dean down with her telekinesis just as Jamie rushes in. Leah is on top of Dean with her hands on his throat. Jamie throws her hand out and flings Leah back. Leah falls unto the ground and looks up. "Prophetess."

"Whore."

"We're both whores, Jamie. I just got the better brother."

Jamie flings her backward into the wall and holds her there. "Dean! Get the stake, hurry."

Dean reaches for the cypress stake. Leah struggles against Jamie's hold. "Please. Like you're a servant of Heaven."

Sam has ahold of Jane. "Let me go!"

Dean grabs the stake and walks forward. Jamie grits her teeth, putting more force into her hold.

"You can't hold me, can you prophetess?" Leah taunts.

"Dean," She gasps out. "I can't stake her and hold her at the same time."

Dean looks at her. "Jamie…"

"You're the righteous man, Dean. The righteous man who begins it is the one who must end it. Do it, now."

Dean hesitates. Leah snickers. "This is why my team's gonna win. You're the great vessel? You're pathetic, self-hating, and faithless. It's the end of the world. And you're just gonna sit back and watch it happen." Dean punches her, and then stakes her.

"Don't be so sure, whore."

"And it shall be written, the whore shall be slain by the righteous man who shed blood in hell. And as his strength returns, so shall hers wane." Jamie drops her arms and Leah collapses unto the floor. Her body shakes and the stake catches on fire. It explodes, leaving a burning hole where it entered her body.

Sam lets go of Jane. She walks over to stand beside Dean. "But…I don't understand. How are we supposed to get to paradise now? "

Dean glances over at her. "I'm sorry. Pretty sure you're headed in a different direction."

Gideon attempts to stand. Sam grabs him and helps him up. "Gotcha."

Jamie looks up. "Cas…" She turns towards Dean.

"Come on."

Dean and Jamie have Castiel and Sam has Gideon, they're helping them walk up the stairs. "Dean, how did you do that?" Sam asks.

"What?"

"He wants to know how you killed her." Jamie tells him.

"Long run of luck held out, I guess."

"Last I checked, she could only be ganked by a servant of Heaven."

"Well, what do you want me to tell you? I saw a shot. I went for it." They get the pastor and the angel into the backseat of the Impala. "Alright. Here we go."

"I got you, Cas, I got you." Jamie mutters.

"Watch your head, now." Sam looks at Dean. "Jamie is he gonna- are you gonna do something stupid?"

Jamie looks up. "Sam."

"Like what?" Dean asks.

"Like Michael stupid."

"Come on, Sam. Give me a break."

Sam looks down towards Jamie, but she's preoccupied with Castiel.

Dean walks into the motel. Jamie is on the bed beside Cas who is staring straight ahead. She has her eyes closed and is muttering something. "Jamie? Is he gonna be okay?"

Jamie opens her eyes and looks at him. "I'm pulling him out of it."

Dean pats her shoulder and walks across the room. "How's the head?"

Sam is wrapping Pastor Gideon's wrist. "I'm seeing double. But that may be the painkillers."

"You'll be okay."

"No."

Dean looks away and walks towards the door. Sam calls out to him. "Where you going?"

"I'm just gonna grab some clean bandages out of the trunk. Relax." Dean leaves. Sam looks across the room to Jamie. She has her eyes closed again. Sam looks back down at the dressing.

"There. How's that?"

"Sam." Jamie says from across the room. Her eyes are still closed. "If you want to stop him, you better go now."

Dean starts the impala and revs the engine. Sam runs out after him while Dean speeds away. "Damn it! Dean! DEAN!"

Jamie comes out. Sam looks at her. Jamie nods. "Yes."


	30. 518 Point of No Return

Dean packs away his belongings in a box, including his leather jacket, his keys, his gun, and a letter. He marks the box for ROBERT SINGER after he tapes it shut. He goes over to take another drink and looks in the mirror. Sam and Jamie are standing there.

"Sending someone a candy-gram?" Sam asks.

Jamie looks pissed. "Damnit it, Dean."

Dean looks slightly impressed. "How'd you find me?" Jamie raises her hand. Dean rolls his eyes. "Damn you Sam. I thought we agreed not to use our sister like a crystal ball."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Hey! You're going to kill yourself, right? It's not too hard to figure out the stops on the Farewell Tour. How's Lisa doing, anyways?"

"I'm not going to kill myself."

Jamie scoffs. "No, what you're gonna do is much more stupid."

Sam takes a step forward. "No? So Michael's _not_ about to make you his Muppet? What the hell, man? This is how it ends? You just…walk out?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Dean!"

"How could you do that?"

Dean raises an eyebrow. "How could _I_? All you've _ever_ done is run away." He points at Sam accusingly.

Sam nods. "And I was wrong. Every single time I did."

"That so." He looks past his brother to his sister. "And you. Isn't this your job? To see this through? You just gonna walk out on destiny?"

Jamie jaw drops open in anger. "Destiny? Dean you don't believe in destiny!" She spits.

"Well maybe I should start. Maybe you two should start." Jamie takes a step forward, but Sam grabs her shoulder.

"I am what I am, Dean. Not even the angels can take this from me. But you and Sam, you have a choice, and I'm not going to back down and watch my brothers make the wrong one!" She struggles against Sam's restraint.

Sam pushes Jamie back and turns back to Dean. "Just…please. Not now. Bobby is working on something."

"Oh, really? What?" Sam doesn't answer. Jamie sighs. "You got nothing and you know it."

Sam looks at him. "You know we have to stop you."

Dean gestures for them to come get him. "Yeah, well, you can try. Just remember: You're not all hopped up on demon blood this time."

"Yeah, I know."

Sam lets go of Jamie who starts walking towards Dean.

"Jamie, you wouldn't dare."

She stops. "No, you're right. That's why I brought help." Dean turns around to find Castiel standing behind him. Castiel touches his fingers to Dean's forehead, knocking him out.

It's morning and the Winchesters are in Bobby's study. Bobby is sitting at his desk with books opened. Sam is sitting in a chair reading a book. Jamie has a book floating in front of her, and she's using her telekinesis to turn the pages. Castiel is leaning against the wall. Dean paces. "Yeah, no, this is good. Really. You know, eight months of turned pages and screwed pooches but tonight, tonight's when the magic happens."

Bobby looks up. "You ain't helpin'."

"Yeah, well, why don't you let me get out of your hair, then?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. The book falls to the ground. "Goddamnit!" She yells.

Sam looks up in alarm. "What?"

"That!" She points to the fallen book. "Four years of having these powers and one little slip is all it takes."

Sam sighs and puts his book down. He walks over to her and puts his hands on her shoulders. He rubs them tenderly. "You're stressed. It's okay."

Jamie pulls away. "No Sam, it's not okay. I am a hunter, damnit, one mistake is all it takes to get killed. You know that."

Sam sighs. "Dean…"

"What?"Sam gestures to Jamie. "What?"

"This is where you give some mondo big brother prep-talk."

Dean stares blankly at him and then looks away. Sam's jaw drops slightly. Jamie glances from Sam to Dean and then walks past them over to Castiel.

Bobby shakes his head. "What the hell happened to you?"

Dean sits down on the desk and looks at him. "Reality happened. Nuclear's the only option we have left. Michael can ice the devil, save a boatload of people."

"But not _all_ of them. We gotta think of something else."

"Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say. But if Lucifer burns this mother down, and I coulda done something about it, guess what? That's on me."

Jamie turns around and leans against Castiel. Cas puts his arm around her.

"You can't give up, son."

"You're not my father. And you ain't in my shoes."

Jamie's eyes widen. "Dean shut up!" Bobby's face falls. Sam looks at Dean and shakes his head.

Bobby pulls out a gun out of his desk and sets it on the table. He takes a bullet out of his pocket and looks at it.

Dean looks at the bullet. "What is that?"

Bobby holds up the bullet. "That's the round that I mean to put through my skull." He sets the bullet down on his desk in front of him. "Every morning, I look at it. I think, "Maybe today's the day I flip the lights out." But I don't do it. I _never_ do it. You know why?" He pauses and then yells: "Because I promised _you_ I wouldn't give up!"

Jamie grabs her head and groans. At the same time Castiel grasps his head and hunches over in pain.

"Jamie?" Dean asks, whirling around.

Sam looks over, alarmed. "Cas, you okay?"

"No." The angel mutters. Jamie cries out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sam asks. "Jamie?"

Dean moves over to his sister and his angel. "Is something coming?"

Jamie shakes her head. "No."

"Something's happening." Castiel says.

"Where?"

Castiel disappears. Wind throws papers around the room. Jamie grabs a bucket and vomits. Sam raise's an eyebrow. "That's the first time that's happened." Jamie looks up and glares at him, and then throws up again.

A bit later Sam is standing against the fridge in the kitchen. Dean walks over. Jamie is standing against the wall rubbing her head.  
"I'm gonna get a beer, do you mind?" Sam moves out of the way of the fridge. Dean turns to his sister. "Jamie, you want one? Goes good with aspirin."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean, that's not funny."

Jamie looks up towards the study. "Guys."

Wind blows papers and Castiel appears with a body. "Help." He calls.

"Jamie! Boys!" Bobby yells.

Castiel lays the body down on the cot. Dean, Sam, and Jamie rush into the room. Jamie gasps and steps back. Dean grabs her.

Bobby notices the Winchesters' reactions. "Who is it?"

Sam gulps. "That's our brother."

They're all quiet for a moment and then Bobby asks. "Wait a minute. Your brother? Adam?"

Jamie nods. "Yeah. We burned his body…Cas." She turns toward the angel.

Dean mimics her. "Cas, what the hell?"

Castiel puts the knives down. Jamie looks at them and then at Cas. "Angels." He says simply.

Sam's eyes widen. "Angels? Why?"

Jamie sits down on the bed beside Adam. She moves her hand over his head and frowns.

"I know one thing for sure. We need to hide him now." He moves towards the bed.

Jamie nods. "Do it. Now."

Castiel puts his hand to Adam's chest and brands the Enochian symbols on his ribs to hide him from angels. Adam wakes up. "Where am I?"

Jamie puts her hand on his chest. "Hey, hey, hey, easy."

Sam moves closer. "It's okay. Just relax, you're safe."  
Adam stares at them. "Who the hell are you?"

Dean sighs. "You're going to find this a little...a lot crazy, but we're actually your siblings."

Sam nods. "It's the truth."

"John Winchester was our father too." Jamie tells him.

"Yeah. See, I'm Sam—"

Adam cuts him off. "Yeah, and I'm sure that's Dean. And Jamie, the prophetess. I know who you are."

"How?" Sam asks, surprised.

Jamie moves back. "Shit." She curses and gets up, turning away.

Adam glances between her and Sam. "They warned me about you."

"Who did?" Dean asks.

"The angels. Now where the hell is Zachariah?"

Jamie grabs the bucket and pukes. Dean and Sam look at each other.

"Oh God." Dean mutters.

Sam rubs the back of his head. "Um. Why don't we get you cleaned up, huh?"

"I'll get the booze." Bobby says.

Jamie pukes into the bucket again. Cas goes over to her. She looks up at him. "Castiel, what the hell is happening to me?"

"I don't know."

A few minutes later everyone is settled around Adam, with glasses of whiskey, except Castiel. Dean leans against the back of his chair and looks at Adam. "So why don't you just tell us everything? Start from the beginning."

Adam rolls his eyes. "Well, I was dead and in Heaven. 'Cept it—it uh, kinda looked like my prom and I was making out with this girl, her name was Kristin McGee—"

"Yeah, that sounds like heaven. Did you get to third base?"

Jamie and Sam clear their throats loudly. "Dean. Porn. No." Jamie says pointedly.

Sam turns back to Adam. "Just uh, just keep going."

"Well, these…these angels, they popped out of nowhere, and they tell me that I—I'm chosen."

Jamie drops her glass and it shatters. Castiel rushes to her. "I'm gonna throw up again. Cas." The two of them go into the kitchen. Sam and Dean look at each other, worried, and then turn back to Adam.

"Uh. Chosen. For what?"

"To save the world."

Castiel holds the bucket and Jamie pukes. Sam and Dean look over their shoulders and then back to Adam. "How you gonna do that?" Dean asks.

"Oh, me and some archangel are going to kill the devil."

"What archangel?"

Jamie and Castiel come back into the room. Jamie wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "Michael." Jamie says, firmly, glaring at Adam.

"Right. I'm his uh, sword or vessel or something, I don't know."

"Well, that's insane." Dean says.

Jamie shakes her head. "No, it's not."

"Not necessarily." Castiel says.

Dean turns to him. "How do you mean? "

"Maybe they're moving on from you, Dean."

"Well that doesn't make sense."

"He's John Winchester's bloodline, Sam's brother."

"My brother. It's not perfect, but it's possible."

"Well you gotta be kidding me."

"No."

Sam stares at Jamie and Cas. "Why would they do this?"

"Maybe they're desperate. Maybe they _wrongly_ assumed Dean would be brave enough to withstand them." The angel glares at Dean.

Dean smirks, looking over at him. "Alright, you know what? Blow me, Cas."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Do not start you two. I've got a migraine that won't quit, and I think brother number 3 is the cause. Zachariah is laying the mojo on thick to get to him. So keep the stupid, bitchy comments to a minimum!"

Castiel nods. "I think you're right."

Sam sighs. "Okay. Look, no way. After everything that's happened? All that crap about destiny? Suddenly the angels have a Plan B? Does that smell right to anybody?"

Adam looks at Sam and then starts to get up. "You know this has been a _really_ moving family reunion, but uh, I got a thing, so—"

Sam stops him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no. Sit down. Just listen, okay? Please."

"It's unbelievable." Adam sits back down.

"Now, Adam…the angels are _lying_ to you."

Jamie steps forward. "They're full of crap. Trust me."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

Sam stares at him. "Really. Why not?"

"Um, 'cause they're _angels_."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "They tell you they were gonna roast half the planet?"

Adam sighs. "They said the fight might get pretty hairy, but it is the devil, right? So we got to stop him."

Jamie shakes her head. "Not like this. Not by sacrificing this many people."

Sam nods. "Yeah, there's another way."

Adam looks around. "Great. What is it?"

Dean grins. "We're working on "the power of love."

Jamie groans. "I hate you."

"I love you too. See, it's already working."

Sam glares at his brother and sister and then turns to Adam. "Look, Adam…You don't know me from a hole in the wall, I know. But I'm begging you. Please, just trust me. Give me some time."

"Give me one good reason." Adam shoots back.

"Because we're blood."

Adam is a little taken aback. "You've got no right to say that to me." He hisses.

Jamie nods to her. "Our blood runs in your veins whether you like it or not."

"You're still John's boy." Bobby says.

Adam shakes his head. "No, John Winchester was some guy who took me to a baseball game once a year. I don't have a dad. So we may be blood, but we are not family. My mom is my family. And if I do my job, I get to see her again. So no offense, but she's the one I give a rat's ass about, not you."

Sam won't give in. "Fair enough. But if you have one good memory of dad, just one, then you'll give us a little more time. Please."

Later. Adam is playing with a half-eaten sandwich. He sees Bobby turn around in his chair, and looks at the door in the kitchen to escape. Jamie and Sam are coming down the stairs. Jamie nudges Sam and gestures to Adam. Sam steps out in front of the door. "Going somewhere?"

Adam looks at him. "Out for a...beer."

"Great. We got beer. Have a seat." Sam points to the table. Adam grudgingly sits down.

"Great. You know, you pitched this whole dewy-eyed bromance thing, but the truth is, I'm on lockdown, aren't I?"

Jamie steps forward, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "How much did they tell you about me?"

"That you were powerful, but fallen. You turned from the path."

Jamie nods. "I chose exile. You know why? Because my brothers are more important to me than any angel's pile of crap. You get your mom back out of all of this, well I lose my brothers!" She yells, taking a step forward. "I am still the voice crying out in the desert and so help me if I have to narrate the apocalypse because of your stupid ass…"

Sam grabs unto her shirt and drags her back. "Sam: Jamie! Go find Dean and Cas. You're not helping." Jamie leaves the room. "Sorry about her, she's a little on edge these days."

Adam swallows. "Yeah they told me she was a little crazy."

"Jamie's been through a lot." Sam sits down across from him. "Adam, you may not believe it, but dad was trying to protect you. Keeping you from all of this."

"Yeah well, I guess the monster that ate me didn't get that memo."

"You remember that?"

Adam nods. "Oh yeah."

"Still, trust me. The one thing worse than seeing dad once a year was seeing him _all_ year." Sam smirks.

Adam shakes his head. "Do you know how full of crap you are?"

"What?"

"Really. You see, it was me and it was my mom. That's it. She worked the graveyard shift at the hospital. I cooked my own dinners. I put myself to bed. So you can say whatever you want about our dad, but the truth is, I would have taken anything." Sam nods his head a little. "Alright?"

"Look, if we had known we had a brother—"

"Well, you didn't, so…"

"—We would have found you." Adam scoffs and shakes his head. "Look, I can't change the past. I wish I could. But from here on out—"

Adam looks up at him. "What? We gonna hop in the family truckster? Pop on down to Wally World?"

"Tell you one thing, with an attitude like that, you would have fit right in around here." Sam snickers and looks back at Jamie whose been standing in the doorway. Jamie scoffs a little and turns away.

Down in Bobby's panic room, Dean is fiddling with some of the paneling on the wall. Sam opens the door and Jamie and Castiel are standing behind it. Cas stares at Dean. Sam walks inside. Dean smirks at Cas. "Well, Cas, not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that…I got laid."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "I'm just going to go burn my brain stem."

"Jamie if a prophet commits suicide…" Jamie gives Cas a look. "Oh, right…you're expressing frustration."

Sam sighs. "Uh, Cas, why don't you, uh, go keep an eye on Adam?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. She walks into the panic room. Castiel waves his hand and the door slams shut.

"Is this really necessary?" Dean asks.

"Well, I mean, we got our hands full, Dean... A house full of flight risks."

Dean glances over at Jamie. "And a prophet who can't hold her cookies."

Jamie smirks. "Zachariah is being a pain in my ass, what else is new?"

Dean turns back to Sam. "I'm not letting him do it."

"Who, Adam? No, I'm... I'm not, either."

"Me neither."

"No, you two are not getting me."

Sam shakes his head. "Oh, no, no, I "get" you perfectly."

Jamie nods. "So do I. But I'm not letting you do it, either."

"That kid's not taking a bullet for me."

Sam sighs. "Dean…"

"He won't." Jamie says, moving closer to them.

"I'm serious. I mean, think about how many people we've gotten killed, guys. Mom, Dad, Jess, AJ, Jo, Ellen. Should I keep going?"

Jamie sighs, rubbing her eyes. "We don't send other men to die for us, Dean."

Sam nods. "It's not like we pulled the trigger."

"We might as well have. I'm tired, man. I'm tired of fighting who I'm supposed to be."

Sam looks at Jamie and then back at Dean. "Well, do you think maybe you could take a half a second and stop trying to sacrifice yourself for a change?"

"Maybe we could actually stick together?" Jamie tells him, sitting down beside him on the bed.

Dean looks at her and then at Sam. "I don't think so."

"Why not? Dean, seriously. Tell me. I—I want to know."

Jamie stares at her brother. After a moment she gets a weird look on her face. "Dean. No."

Dean looks down. "I just…I—I don't believe."  
"In what?"

Dean looks up at him. "In you. I mean, I don't. I don't know whether it's gonna be demon blood or some other demon chick or what, but…I do know they're gonna find a way to turn you."

"Dean…"

"So you're saying I'm not strong enough."

"You're angry, you're self-righteous. Lucifer's gonna wear you to the prom, man. It's just a matter of time."

"Dean you cannot say that to him!" Jamie turns away. Tears fall her down her cheeks. Sam's eyes fill with tears. Dean's eyes are red.

"Don't say that to me. Not you...of all people."

Jamie gets up and moves to her twin. "Sam, God."

"I don't want to. But it's the truth. And when Satan takes you over, there's got to be somebody there to fight him, and it ain't gonna be that kid, and it can't be Jamie. So, it's got to be me."

Sam sniffs and opens the door to the panic room and walks out. Jamie stands there, looking at Dean. "What about me?" She asked softly, looking over her shoulder.

Dean turns to her. "What about you, Jamie? Are you so selfish that all you worry about is yourself?"

Jamie turns to him hysterical. "I have the worst goddamn job in all of this, Dean! I have to watch! And not with some angel wearing me either. My eyes will see, my ears will hear, and my tongue will proclaim. I have to narrate the two of you killing each other. And I can't do a damned thing about it! So yes, maybe I am selfish, but if it's going to keep what is left of my family alive, so be it! I love you, Dean. I love you more than anything, and Sam too. I have watched the both of you die in front of me, and now you're asking me to do it again. No. You hear me, no!" Jamie waves her hand and the door to the panic room blows open. She steps outside.

Cas is watching Adam sleep in Bobby's study. Bobby rolls his chair over. Sam comes in. "How's he doing?" Bobby asks. Sam shrugs and scoffs. "How _you_ doing?"

SAM nods slightly. Jamie comes in, tears streak across her face. She wipes her eyes and turns away. Sam looks over at her and takes her into his arms. "Don't puke on my shirt, k?" They look at each other and laugh painfully.

Castiel leaves the room and goes downstairs to check on Dean. He hears a crash and goes to the panic room door. "Dean? Dean?"

"Cas."

Dean has an angel banishing sigil drawn on the inside of a cabinet. He presses his hand to it, sending Castiel away screaming. Dean escapes.

"CAS!" Jamie runs downstairs just after Dean leaves. Sam follows on her heels.

"We have a problem." Sam and Jamie grab their jackets as they walk back into the study.

"Where's Cas?"

"Blown to Oz." Sam tells him. "Look, we'll get Dean. He couldn't have gone too far."

Jamie nods. "Watch Adam."

"How? You may have noticed, he's got a slight height advantage."

Sam puts his jacket on. "Then cuff him to your chair. I don't know. Just watch him."

Jamie gets her jacket on. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Jamie and Sam walk in awhile later. It's night now. Bobby is sitting in an empty room. "Bad news kids. Adam is gone."

Sam looks at him. "Bobby, what do you mean, "Adam is gone?"

"Should I say it in Spanish?"

"He's gone how? What the hell, Bobby?!" Sam yells in frustration.

Jamie puts her hand on her brother's arm. "Calm down Sam."

"Watch your tone, boy. He was right in front of me, and he disappeared into thin air."

Jamie sighs, putting her hands on her hips. She looks up. "You guys want some good news?" Sam looks at her. She points.

Castiel appears carrying a bloody and battered Dean. "Because the angels took him." Castiel says, referring to Adam.

Sam looks at Dean. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Me."

"Jesus Cas, I said find my brother and knock him out, not beat him half to death."

Cas throws Dean unto the bed. Jamie goes over and sits next to him. "He'll be alright."

Bobby turns to Castiel. "What do you mean, the angels took Adam? You branded his ribs, didn't you?"

"Yes. Adam must have tipped them."

"How?"

"I don't know. Maybe in a dream."

Sam turns to them. "Well, where would they have taken him?"

Jamie looks up. "Oh son of a bitch." She turns to look at Sam, Cas, and Bobby. "I know where they took him."

Dean wakes up handcuffed to a cot. Sam and Jamie are sitting at the table across from it.

"Hey Dean." Jamie says a little too sweetly.

"How you feeling?" Sam asks.

"Word to the wise: don't piss off the nerd angels. So how's it going?"

Jamie nods. "Not too good."

Sam gets up. "Adam's gone. The angels have him."

"Where?"

"The room where they took you." Sam answers.

"You sure?"

Jamie nods again. "I saw it. And we sent Cas to do a re-con."

"And?"

"And the place is crawling with mooks…Pretty much a no-shot-in-hell, hail-Mary kind of thing." Sam tells him.

"Yeah we're screwed." Jamie scoffs.

"Ah, so the usual. What are you two going to do?"

"For starters…we're bringing you with."

"Excuse me?"

Sam unlocks Dean's handcuffs, releasing him. "There are too many of them. We can't do it alone. And uh, you're pretty much the only game in town."

Jamie gets up. "So congrats you're free."

"Isn't that a bad idea?"

"Yes." Jamie says without missing a beat.

Sam nods. "Cas and Bobby think so too. I'm not so sure."

"Well, Jamie's right, they're right. Because either it's a trap to get me there to make me say yes, or it's not a trap and I'm gonna say yes anyway. And I will. I'll do it. Fair warning."

Jamie looks at him. "I'm voting for the former. But we have to do this. No choice and all."

Sam looks at Dean. "And, you won't. When push shoves, you'll make the right call."

Dean gets up. "You know, if tables were turned…I'd let you rot in here. Hell, I _have_ let you rot in here."

Jamie snickers glancing at her brother. "If it's any consolation I do want to leave you to rot in here."

"I thought you liked me the best?"

"I do. But Sam…"

"Yeah, well…I guess I'm not that smart."

"Yeah. So we're gonna do this."

Dean stares at the both of them. "I—I don't get it. Guys, why are you doing this?"

Jamie and Sam look at each other. "Because…."

"You're still our big brother."

Castiel, Dean, Sam, and Jamie appear outside an abandoned warehouse. It's daytime again. Dean looks around. "Where the hell are we?"

"Van Nuys, California." Cas answers.

Oh. Perfect." Jamie says sarcastically.

"Where's the beautiful room?" Dean asks.

"In there." Castiel points to the warehouse.

"The beautiful room is in an abandoned muffler factory in Van Nuys, California?"

Castiel stops and looks at him. "Where'd you think it was?"

"I—I don't know. Jupiter? A blade of grass? Not Van Nuys."

Sam turns to Cas. "Tell me again why you don't just grab Adam and shazam the hell out of there."

"Because there are at least five angels in there."

"So? You're fast."

Jamie turns to Dean. "He's not that fast."

Castiel nods. "And they're faster." He takes off his tie and wraps it around his palm. "I'll clear them out. You three grab the boy. This is our only chance."

Dean stares at him. "Whoa, wait. You're gonna take on five angels?"

"Yes."

Dean looks at Sam and Jamie and then back to Cas. "Isn't that suicide?"

"Maybe it is. But then I won't have to watch you fail. I'm sorry, Dean, but Jamie and I…"Jamie gives him a look. He clears his throat. "I mean, I don't have the same faith in you that Sam does." He pulls a box cutter out of his trench-coat pocket.

Jamie steps back, shocked. "Cas are you insane?"

"What the hell are you gonna do with that?" Sam asks.

Jamie moves to stand in front of him. "Cas." Jamie wraps her arms around him. After a moment he hugs her back.

"We have to do what we must." Jamie pulls back and nods. Castiel looks at the three of them and then goes inside.

Dean Jamie and Sam enter the warehouse through the same door Castiel did. Dean finds the one slain angel and he and Jamie go into the room. It's indeed the green room. Dean sees Adam on the floor against the opposite wall. He and Jamie hurry to his side to help him leave. "Adam, hey. Hey." Dean gets down beside him.

Jamie grabs his hand. "Easy kid. We're here now."

Adam looks up at them. "You came for me."

"Yeah, well, you're family." Dean tells him.

Jamie smiles softly. "Yeah, come on baby brother."

Dean and Jamie wrap Adam's arms around their shoulders and pull him up.

"Guys, it's a trap." Adam chokes out.

"I figured." Dean mutters.

"I know." Jamie echoes.

Zachariah appears. "Dean, Jamie, please. Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Jamie looks up at him. "No. But…"

"Did _you_?"

Sam comes at Zachariah from behind with an angel-killing sword. Zachariah knocks it out of his hand and throws Sam against a screen. "Sam!" Dean and Jamie yell.

"You know what I've learned from this experience, Dean? Patience." Zachariah waves his hand and Adam falls to the floor, coughing up blood.

"Adam." Jamie drops to the floor beside him. "Oh my god."

Dean looks down. "Adam? Let him go, you son of a bitch."

"I mean, I thought I was downsized for sure. And for us, a firing...pretty damn literal. But I should have trusted the boss man. It's all playing out like he said...You, me, your hemorrhaging brothers, and your prophetic little sister." Zachariah turns his fist in Sam's direction, causing him to cough up blood like Adam.

"Sam!" He looks at Jamie. Jamie looks at him. "Zachariah, the moment you do anything to me, Michael comes down here to kick your ass."

"Really? Hmm." He turns to Dean. Jamie rushes to Sam's side. "You're finally ready, right?"

"Sam? Hang on." Jamie mutters, holding his shoulder.

Dean looks from Zachariah to Jamie, to Sam and Adam who are lying on the floor, still coughing up blood.

"You know there's no other choice. There's never been a choice."

Jamie looks toward Dean. "Dean…"

Zachariah turns to look at her. He points at her. "I may not be able to harm you, but if you interfere I will put you down, prophetess."

"Stop it. Stop it right now!" Dean yells.

"In exchange for what?"

"Damn it, Zachariah. Stop it, please. I'll do it."

"I'm sorry. What was that?"

"Okay, yes. The answer is yes."

"Dean no!" Jamie yells, starting to stand up.

Sam looks up in horror. "Dean!"

Dean doesn't look at them. "Do you hear me? Call Michael down, you bastard!"

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Do I look like I'm lying?"

Jamie stands up. Zachariah looks at her. Jamie swallows. "As the prophet speaks so shall it be heard. He's not…he's not lying." She kneels back down beside Sam.

Zachariah turns, satisfied, and speaks in Enochian, summoning the archangel Michael. "_Zodiredo…noco…aberamage…nazodpesade…_He's coming."

SAM gives Dean a questioning look. Dean winks at Sam. Jamie's eyes widen. She looks at Sam and they share a look.

"Of course, I have a few conditions."

"What?"

"The few people whose safety you have to guarantee before I say yes."

"Sure, fine. Make a list."

"But most of all…Michael can't have me until he disintegrates you."

Zachariah looks up. "What did you say?"

Dean grins. "I said…before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass…he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal."

"You really think Michael's gonna go for that?"

Jamie gets up. "Yes, I do. Especially after he speaks with his prophet."

Dean smirks. "Who's more important to him now? You…or me?"

Zachariah sneers. "You listen to me. You are nothing but a maggot inside a worm's ass. Do you know who I am…after I deliver you to Michael?"

"Expendable." He looks over at Jamie.

Jamie holds her arms out and closes her eyes. "Sancte Michael archangele, defende nos in praelio…"

Zachariah looks at her in horror. "Michael's not gonna kill _me_."

"Maybe not. But _I_ am." Dean stabs an angel-killing sword into Zachariah's head through his chin. He falls to the ground. White light and the ear-piercing noise indicate Michael is coming.

"Dean we don't have a lot of time. Get Adam, I've got Sam." Jamie drops down to her knees and pulls Sam up. "Come on." Jamie loops Sam's arm over her shoulder.

"Can you walk?" Dean asks Adam.

"Yeah."

"Okay, come on."

Dean helps Adam up and pulls him over to the door. Jamie blows the door open and she drags Sam though. Dean has hold of Adam and is going for the door.

"Hurry up!" Jamie waves her hand, pulling on Dean and Adam but something holds Adam back. The green room's door slams shut behind Dean, leaving Adam locked inside.

"No! Dean! Jamie! Help! It won't open!"

"No!" Jamie lets Sam down and rushes back to the door with Dean. Dean attempts to open the green room's door from the outside. He is burned when he touches the knob.

"Dean, help! Dean!"

"Dean, stand back." Jamie puts her hands up and tries to use her power. The door doesn't budge. "No! No, damnit."

Dean looks at her. "What's wrong, why isn't it working?"

"It's Michael. Dean, I can't open it!"

"Jamie! Dean!"

"Oh my god." Jamie turns to Dean in horror. Dean turns to the door.

"Hold on! We'll get you out. Just hold on. Adam! Can you hear me?!" Jamie grabs unto the door and pulls. The green room is filled with white light. Outside, it fades, and Jamie can turn the knob. She opens it to find it an abandoned office. "Adam?"

"No." Dean and Jamie look at each other and then back to Sam.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are in the Impala, driving down the highway. It's night. Sam sighs. "You think Adam's okay?"

"Doubt it. Cas either. But we'll get 'em." Dean nods to him.

"Yeah." Jamie moves closer to them.

"So."

""So" what?"

"I saw your eyes. You were totally rockin' the "yes" back there."

Jamie snickers. "He better have been. I swore on my prophetic tongue."

"So, what changed your mind?" Sam and Jamie both look at him.

"Honestly? The damnedest thing. I mean, the world's ending. The walls are coming down on us, and I look over to you two and all I can think about is, "this stupid sons of bitches _brought_ me here." I just didn't want to let you down."

Sam smiles. "You didn't. You _almost_ did. But you didn't."

Jamie smirks. "Good job. I knew you had it in ya."

Dean glances back at her. "Liar."

"You still love me."

"I do. And I'm sorry for calling you selfish. You're right. You do have the worst job in all of this. By the way is Michael pissed at you?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I don't know. Probably. But the nausea is gone, so Zach is definitely dead."

Sam snickers. Jamie grins. Dean looks over. "I owe you an apology too, Sam."

"No, man. No, you don't."

"Just...let me say this. I don't know if it's being a big brother or what, but to me, you've always been this snot-nosed kid that I've had to keep on the straight and narrow. I think we all know that that's not you anymore. I mean, hell, if you're grown-up enough to find faith in me…the least I can do is return the favor. So screw destiny, right in the face. I say we take the fight to them, and do it our way."

Sam nods. "Sounds good."

Jamie smiles. "Hell yes."


	31. 112 Faith

A/n: Throwback. Lol. Just so you guys can see a little bit of Jamie without her crazy powers before I finish Season 5 and move into Season 6 and 7.

A ragged, hairy creature leaps up and shoves Dean backwards. Dean loses his weapons and flashlight as he falls. He glances around, scrambles across puddles of water to grab the taser and releases it toward the creature as it moves toward him, electrocuting him. Electricity moves from the creature through the water lying on the ground to Dean. They both shake and twitch, the creature falls, Dean loses consciousness.

"DEAN!" Jamie sits straight up in bed, crying and gasping for breath. She looks around the darkened apartment and puts her face in her hands, sobbing. After a few minutes she catches her breath and wipes her eyes, reaching over for her cellphone. She dials Dean's number and waits out the rings.

"Hello?"

"Dean?"

"Jamie?"

"Dean where are you?" She sniffs and wipes her eyes.

"Uh…we're just outside of Dayton, we're hunting a rawhead. Been snatching kids. Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Uh. Nothing. You know, I'm an hour out, you got an address?" She scrambles for a pen and writes down the number for the abandoned house. "I'll meet you there." She hangs up and scrambles for a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. She buckles her belt and ties her hair back, reaching under her pillow for her handgun, which she stuffs in its holster. Grabbing her keys she heads down to her truck.

It's starting to rain as she pulls up to the abandoned house. The Impala is parked outside. She kills the engine and gets out just as Sam rushes out with two little kids. "Sam!" She yells, jumping down and going to him.

"Jamie! Hey." He greets her. "Hey, stay here, it will be okay." He says, turning to the kids.

"Where is Dean?" Jamie asks, pulling out her gun.

"He's frying up the rawhead."

"What?" Jamie races toward the house with Sam on her heels. They rush down the stairs and sees Dean in the corner, unmoving.

"Dean!" Sam yells. He runs over and half lifts him, holding his face. "Dean, hey. Hey."

"Is he breathing?" Jamie asks, dropping down beside him. Sam looks at her. Both of them look alarmed. She swallows thickly. "I'll call an ambulance. We gotta get those kids out." She gets up. "Sam…don't let him die." She says, turning back to look at him.

The next morning at the hospital, Sam stands at the desk with a receptionist. "Sir, I'm so sorry to ask. There doesn't seem to be any insurance on file."

"Right. Uh, ok." He glances over at Jamie whose standing a few feet away. Jamie shrugs. Sam feels the pockets of his jacket and then takes out his wallet. He removes a credit card from his wallet and hands it to the receptionist.

She glances down at the card. "Okay, Mr. Burkovitz."

Sam sees two cops waiting and walks over. Jamie follows him. "Look, we can finish this up later." One of the cops tells him.

Sam shakes his head. "No, no, it's okay. We were just taking a shortcut through the neighborhood. And, um, the windows were rolled down, we heard some screaming when we drove past the house, and we stopped. Ran in."

One of the cops is writing this down. "And you found the kids in the basement?"

"Yeah."

"Well, thank God you did."

Jamie sees a doctor walking towards them. "Sam." She puts her hand on her brother's shoulder and nods in that direction. Sam looks over.

'Excuse me." He says to the cops.

"Sure. Thanks for your help."

Sam slips his hand into Jamie's and they walk towards the doctor. "Hey, Doc. Is he..."

"He's resting."

"And?" Sam asks, glancing from Jamie to the doctor.

The doctor frowns. "The electrocution triggered a heart attack. Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart...it's damaged."

Jamie gasps. Sam squeezes her hand. "How damaged?"

"We've done all we can. We can try and keep him comfortable at this point. But, I'd give him a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month."

"No." Jamie starts crying, Sam looks down at her, pressing her against him in a half hug.

"No, no. There's, there's...gotta be something you can do, some kind of treatment."

"We can't work miracles. I really am sorry."

Sam gestures to Jamie and they walk away, both looking extremely upset. "Sam." Jamie whispers.

"Shh. Don't you even think it. We're going to find something." They walk into Dean's hospital room. Dean is watching TV. He is pale and has dark circles under his eyes. He keeps his eyes on the TV.

"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's terrible." His voice is very weak and the twins notice.

Sam shakes his head and sighs. "I talked to your doctor."

Dean continues as though he didn't hear him. "That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down."

"Dean." Jamie says, her voice breaking a little.

Dean looks up. He clicks the TV off and looks resigned. "Yeah. All right, well, looks like you two are gonna leave town without me."

Sam looks shocked. "What are you talking about? We're not gonna leave you here."

Dean looks at Sam, seriously. "Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass."

"Dean." Jamie says.

"And you gotta make sure that he and Dad don't kill each other." Dean tells her.

"I don't think that's funny." Sam says.

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." There is a long silence, Sam looks down, fighting tears. Jamie is already crying again. Dean sighs. "Look, Sammy, what can I say, man, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."

Jamie wipes her eyes roughly. "Don't talk like that, alright? We still have options."

"What options? Yeah, burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it."

Sam shakes his head. "Watch me."

Sam and Jamie are in their motel room. One of the beds covered in pages of research about heart care. Sam's laptop is open beside it. Jamie is sitting cross legged on the other bed, reading. She looks up when she hears a phone ring. Sam is trying to call their father, but it goes straight to voicemail.

"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 866-907-3235. He can help."

Jamie looks over at Sam, whose fighting tears. "Hey, Dad. It's Sam. Uh...you probably won't even get this, but, uh...it's Dean. He's sick, and uh...the doctors say there's nothing they can do. Um...but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right? So, don't worry, cause I'm uh...gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright...just wanted you to know." He hangs up, tosses his phone on the bed and just sits there silently. Jamie gets up and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back. There is a knock on the door and they looks up quickly. Sam has tears in his eyes. He opens it to find Dean leaning against the jam, looking terrible. "What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asks, confused, surprised, and happy all at once.

"Dean?" Jamie asks, getting up and going over to them.

"I checked myself out." He tells them.

"What, are you crazy?" Sam asks. Jamie crosses her arms.

Dean enters the room, leaning on everything within reach. Jamie rushes over and helps him. "Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." He shrugs. Sam huffs a laugh and shuts the door.

"You know, this whole I-laugh-in-the-face-of-death thing? It's crap. I can see right through it."

"Yeah, whatever, dude. Have you two even slept? You look worse than me."

Jamie and Sam help him into a chair. "We've been scouring the Internet for the last three days."

"And calling every contact in Dad's journal." Jamie adds.

"For what?"

"For a way to help you. One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist."

Jamie rolls her eyes outside of Sam and Dean's line of sight.

"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?" Dean asks.

"We're not gonna let you die, period." Jamie shoots back.

Sam nods. "We're going."

The Impala bumps along a rutted gravel road toward a large white circus tent set up in a field. It's pouring rain outside. People make their way toward the tent across the very muddy ground, many on walking frames or helped by others. Sam and Jamie get out and run around to help Dean. Dean opens his door and looks around. A sign next to the tent reads _The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle._Grimacing, Dean starts to pull himself out of the car. Sam tries to help.

"I got ya." Sam says quietly.

"I got it." He says angrily. He pushes Sam away. "Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor."

Jamie snickers just a little. "I told you he'd have this reaction." She says to her twin.

Sam rolls his eyes. "I believe I said a specialist. Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."

"I don't like it either. Personally, I would have preferred a priest." Jamie grabs unto Dean's arm.

Dean groans. "I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent."

An elderly woman with an umbrella passes by. "Reverend LeGrange is a great man."

"Yeah, that's nice." Dean shoots back. Jamie snickers. Sam continues to roll his eyes.

They walk past an angry man remonstrating with a cop. "I have a right to protest. This man is a fraud. And he's milking all these people out of their hard-earned money."

"You got that right." Jamie mutters as they walk by. The man hears her and they share a nods.

"Sir, this is a place of worship. Let's go. Move it." The sheriff tells the man. They walk away.

"I take it he's not part of the flock." Dean comments.

"Well neither are we." Jamie says with a smirk.

"Well when people see something they can't explain, there's controversy." Sam sighs.

Dean looks at his brother. "I mean, come on, Sam, a faith healer?"

"I like said, we should have found a priest. At least they aren't usually nutjobs."

Sam groans in frustration. "Maybe it's time to have a little faith, guys."

"You know what I've got faith in? Reality. Knowing what's really going on."

"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday?"

"Exactly. We see them, we know there real."

"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there, too?"

"Because I've seen what evil does to good people."

"Are you two done?" They reach the entrance to the tent. A young blonde woman overhears their conversation.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways."

Dean sees her and his eyes widen. She's beautiful. He checks her out and smiles. "Maybe he does. I think you just turned me around on the subject."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Dean holds out his hand. "I'm Dean." He gestures to his sister. "This is Jamie." He gestures to his other side where Sam is standing. "This is Sam."

The young woman takes Dean's hand. "Layla. So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"

"Well, apparently my brother and sister here believe enough for the three of us."

An older woman approaches and puts her arm around Layla. "Come on, Layla. It's about to start." The women smile at the Winchesters and move inside the tent.

Dean stares after them. "Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways."

"Leave it to a woman to make you feel better." Jamie says as she enters the tent with her brothers. The sign at the entrance reads _Welcome All Faiths. True Believers Revival._

The tent is full of people finding seats, a small stage at the front has a lecturn with candles on it.

Dean looks around, tilts his head to the corner. "Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over." Sam and Jamie follow his gaze to a security camera. Dean and Jamie start to take a seat at the back but Sam puts an arm around Dean and gestures to Jamie. They move him toward the front.

"Come on."

Dean jerks in Sam's grip. "Don't! What are you doing? Let's sit here."

"We're sitting up front."

"What? Why?"

"Because Sam's a moron."

"Thanks Jamie." They continue to move Dean up the aisle. "Come on."

Dean growls. "Oh, come on, guys."

"You alright?" Jamie asks.

"This is ridiculous." He slaps Sam's hands away and shrugs off Jamie. "I'm good, dude, get off me."

Sam lets go and points to three empty seats behind Layla and her mother. "Perfect."

"Yeah, perfect." Dean says sarcastically.

"This better work, Sam." Jamie says as she moves in first.

Sam moves in after her. "You take the aisle." He trys to help Dean sit, Dean raises a hand irritably. On stage a blind man wearing sunglasses, Roy LeGrange, is helped to the lecturn by a woman.

"Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?" The crowd agrees with him. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act."

Jamie groans and puts her face in her hand. As he speaks Sam sees a table onstage, filled with religious items. He notices an old wooden cross that is topped by a smaller cross in a circle. He nudges Jamie. Jamie looks up. "That's a Coptic cross. But not a…it's an ancient one."

"But, I say to you, God is watching."

"Yes he is."

"God rewards the good, and He punishes the corrupt."

The crowd is nodding, cheering and murmuring. Jamie and Dean look at each other and scoff.

"It is the Lord who does the healing here friends. The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."

Crowd continues murmuring. "Yeah, and into their wallets." Dean says quietly to his brother and sister.

"You think so, young man?" The crowd immediately falls silent.

Dean looks up. "Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man, we've got real sharp ears." The crowd laughs. Jamie frowns. "What's your name, son?"

Dean clears his throat and hestitates. "Dean."

"Dean." Roy nods to himself. "I want-I want you to come up here with me." The crowd claps. Jamie and Sam look at each other. Layla and her mother don't move. Roy's wife moves to centre stage, smiling at Dean.

Dean shakes his head. "No, it's ok."

"What are you doing?!" Sam hisses. Jamie elbows him, giving her a twin a look.

"You've come here to be healed, haven't cha?"

Dean hesitates again. "Well, yeah, but ahh..."The crowd claps and makes encouraging noises. "... maybe you should just pick someone else." Sam looks at Dean like he's insane. Jamie glares at Sam. Dean looks at Jamie. The crowd claps loudly.

"Oh, no. I didn't pick you, Dean, the Lord did."

The crowd is getting more excited. "_That's right!_ _Yeah!_ _Come on!_"

"Get up there!" Sam says excitedly.

Jamie rolls her eyes and shoves Sam. She takes off her rosary beads and passes them to Dean. Dean takes them. "Just do it, okay?"

Dean reluctantly rises and moves toward the stage. Roy's wife moves to assist and stands him next to Roy. "You ready?"

Dean looks at him. "Look, no disrespect, but ahh, I'm not exactly a believer."

Roy smiles. "You will be, son. You will be."

"Pray with me, friends." The crowd lifts their arms up and joins hands with each other. Jamie gives Sam a dark look. He shrugs and takes her hand. Roy lifts his hands to the air, then places one first on Dean's shoulder, then on the side of his head. "Alright now. Alright now." Dean's eyes glaze over. His knees weaken and he sinks to his knees, Roy's hand still on his head. "Alright, now." Dean wobbles, his eyes fall back in his head and he slips to the stage floor.

"Dean!" Jamie stands up.

Sam jumps from his chair and runs to the stage with his sister. "Dean!" The crowd is clapping excitedly.

"Dean?" Jamie falls to her knees and cradles Dean's head. Sam grabs the front of Dean's hoodie. Dean's eyes burst open and he gasps.

"Say Something!" Sam demands.

Dean blinks groggily and looks up. Roy is standing above him, hands out from his sides, palms up, looking happy. beside and slightly behind Roy a tall man in a black suit with white hair, very white skin and extremely wrinkled skin comes into focus. He stares at Dean then turns away and vanishes. Dean watches him, shocked.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are in a doctor's office. Dean is sitting on the exam table and Sam and Jamie are on either side of him. "So, you really feel okay?" Sam asks.

Dean looks unhappy. "I feel fine, Sam."

"Then what's wrong?" Jamie asks.

Before Dean can answer the doctor enters reading paperwork. "Well, according to all your tests there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was. Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but, still it's strange it does happen."

Dean looks at her. "What do you mean, strange?"

The doctor looks up from Dean's chart. "Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack."

"Thanks, Doc." Dean tells her with a forced smile.

"No problem." She says as she leaves.

"That's odd." Dean says as he gets up.

Sam shrugs. "Maybe it's a coincidence. People's hearts give out all the time, man."

Jamie shakes her head. "No, they don't." Her cellphone starts ringing. She takes it out and moves a few steps away. "Hello?"

Sam sighs. "Look, do we really have to look this one in the mouth? Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life, Dean, and move on?"

Dean looks at Sam. "Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why."

"Hello?" Jamie asks again, greeted with silence.

"What feeling?"

"When I was healed, I just...I felt wrong. I felt cold. And for a second...I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I'm telling you, Sam, it was a spirit."

Jamie hangs up and walks back over to them. "A spirit?"

Sam glances at his sister and then back to Dean. "But if there was something there, Dean, I think Jamie or I would've seen it, too. I mean, We've both been seeing an awful lot of things lately."

Jamie sighs glancing at Sam and then at Dean.

"Well, excuse me, psychic wonder. But you're just gonna need a little faith on this one. Sam, I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."

"I agree with Dean. Something wasn't right there." She puts her hands on her hips. Suddenly her cellphone rings again.

"What the hell?" Dean asks.

"I don't know." She flips her phone open, turning away.

Sam sighs, he looks at Jamie and then at Dean. "Yeah, alright. So, what do you wanna do?"

"I want you to go check out the heart attack guy. Jamie and I will visit the reverend."

Jamie turns around. She's suddenly very pale. "I…I can't go with you."

"What?" Dean asks. He walks over to her. "What is it?"

"Um…that was another hunter. Apparently things are really hairy and uh, well they don't call me Jace Winchester the vampire slayer for nothing."

"Vampires?" Dean and Sam ask at the same time.

"Yeah. Um…so I gotta run." She gestures to the door.

"Well wait, can we help?" Dean asks.

"No. No, you guys should check this out. I've got 3 other hunters on this case already."

"Okay, well, call us if you need anything." Sam tells her.

"I will, I will." She hugs them. "I'll see you guys around." She turns to go out the door. "Oh, Sam." She turns back around and tosses something to him. "Bye guys."

"Bye." Dean looks at Sam but Sam is staring down at the deck of cards Jamie gave him. They're tarot cards and on the top card is the same cross they saw in the tent.


	32. 521 Two Minutes to Midnight

The Winchesters are gathered at Bobby's. Bobby is sitting at his desk. He picks up a newspaper and wheels toward the kitchen. Dean is pointing accusingly towards Sam who's in the kitchen. Jamie is leaning against the doorframe so that she's partially between them. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean spits at Sam.

"Dean –"

"...no, don't "Dean" me. I mean, you - you have had some stupid ideas in the past, But this –" He looks at their sister. "D-did you know about this?"

Jamie rolls her eyes in his direction. "Prophetess." She says simply.

"How could you?!" Dean yells.

"I haven't done anything. Yet." She answers calmly.

Dean whirls around and looks toward their surrogate father. "Bobby!"

"What?" He asks, he too isn't in the mood for Dean's angry outburst.

"You too? You knew about Sam's genius plan to cram the devil down his throat?" Bobby nods. "Well, thanks for the heads up!"

"Hey, this ain't about me." Bobby tells him.

"Or me." Jamie adds.

Dean turns back towards Sam. "You can't do this."

Sam shrugs. "That's the consensus."

"All right. Awesome. Then, end of discussion." Dean's phone rings. He glances down at his pocket, hesitantly.

"Answer." Jamie commands.

"This isn't over." He replies pointedly, taking out his phone. "Hello?"

"Dean?"

"Cas?"

Jamie and Sam both look up. "Is he okay?" Sam asks. Dean holds up a finger.

"We all thought you were dead."

"I didn't think he was dead." Jamie mutters. Sam gives her a look. She shrugs.

"Where the hell are you, man?" Jamie grabs Dean's phone and puts it on speaker. Dean takes his phone back with a glare. "Cas?"

"A hospital." The angel answers monotone.

"Are you okay?" Dean asks.

"No."

The siblings immediately look at each other. "You want to elaborate?" Dean says, concerned.

" I just woke up here. The doctors were fairly surprised. They thought I was brain-dead."

Dean rolls his eyes toward the ceiling. "S-so, a hospital?"

"Apparently, after Van Nuys, I suddenly appeared, bloody and unconscious, on a shrimping boat off Delacroix. I'm told it upset the sailors."

"Uh, well, I got to tell you, man - You're just in time. We figured out a way to pop Satan's box."

"How?"

"It's a long story, but, look -we're going after Pestilence now. So if you want to zap over here..."

"I can't "zap" anywhere."

"What?" Sam and Jamie both ask. Dean stares at them.

"What do you mean?"

"You could say my batteries are - are drained."

"What do you mean? You're out of angel mojo?"

"I'm saying that I am thirsty and my head aches. I have a bug bite that itches no matter how much I scratch it, and I'm saying that I'm just incredibly..."

"Human. Wow. Sorry."

Sam looks at Jamie. She sighs. "Goddamnit."

"Well, my point is - I can't go anywhere without money for...an airplane ride. And food. And more pain medication, ideally."

Dean sighs. He whirls around and looks at Bobby. "All right. Well, look, no worries. Uh, Bobby's here. He'll wire you the cash."

"Dean, wait."

"I will?" Bobby asks, staring at Dean.

Jamie gestures to Bobby. "I'll take care of it."

"Nice try. Last time I checked you were broke."

"Later, Bobby."

"Dean, You said "no" to Michael. I owe you an apology."

Dean immediately takes his phone off speaker. "Cas...I-it's okay."

"You are not the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"You're welcome."

Dean hangs up. The siblings stare at each other for a moment and then walk away in opposite directions.

Dean and Sam are standing by the Impala in Bobby's yard. Bobby is in his chair next to the car. Jamie walks out and hands Dean a bag.

"Sure you don't wanna come with?" Dean asks her.

"I'm gonna wait for Cas. We'll meet you as soon as possible." Jamie tells him.

Dean nods, taking the bag. He and Sam get into the Impala.

"Be careful." Bobby calls. Sam waves to him.

"Be friggin damn careful." Jamie mutters, she goes to stand by Bobby and they watch Sam and Dean leave.

Pestilence has Dean and Sam doubled over on the floor, bleeding from their mouths and coughing. They can't stand. "Hmm. You boys don't look well. It might be the, uh, Scarlet fever. Or, uh, the meningitis. Oh! Or the syphilis. That's no fun." He walks over and grabs Sam by the hair. "However you feel right now? It's gonna get so very, very much worse. Questions?" He drops Sam's head roughly. "Disease gets a bad rap, don't you think?" He walks over and puts disinfectant on his hands and walks back toward the boys. "For being filthy. Chaotic. Uh, but, really, t-that just describes people who get sick. Disease itself... Very...Pure...Single-minded." Dean looks up and sees his knife. He tries to reach for it. "Bacteria have one purpose -divide and conquer." Pestilence steps on Dean's hand. He cries out in pain. "That's why, in the end...It always wins. So, you've got to wonder why God pours all his love into something so messy...And 's ridiculous. All I can do is show him he's wrong, one epidemic at a time. Now... On a scale of 1 to 10, how's your pain?"

Behind him the door blows open, revealing Jamie and Castiel. Dean looks toward them. "Cas. Jamie."

"Jamie!" Sam calls out.

"How'd you get here?" Pestilence demands.

"I took a bus. Don't worry, I-" Castiel falls to the floor, also coughing up blood. Jamie looks down at him.

"Crap." She hisses, looking toward Pestilence. The horseman smirks.

"And you must be the prophetess. Oh don't worry. I won't hurt you. Much." He smirks, walking towards Castiel. "And would you look at that. An occupied vessel, but powerless. Oh, that's fascinating. There's not a speck of angel in you, is there?"

"Cas!" Jamie waves her fingers and the knife slides over to him. The nurse rushes over and attacks her. Jamie waves her arm and throws her into the wall. She is dispossessed. Castiel grabs Sam's knife and cuts off Pestilence's ring finger and pinky finger.

"Oh!"

"Maybe just a speck." Sam goes over to help Cas up. Dean and Jamie rush over to get the ring.

"It doesn't matter. It's too late." Pestilence disappears.

Back at Bobby's house, Bobby is back at his desk. It's littered with papers. Dean is leaning heavily on his arm, which is propped on the back of his chair, playing with Pestilence's ring. Sam is seated beside him. Castiel is sitting behind them, on another desk. Jamie is leaning against him.

"Well, it's nice to actually score a home run for once, ain't it? What?" Bobby asked, seeing the four of them looking grave and exhausted.

"Last thing Pestilence said. "it's too late." Sam says, glancing towards Bobby.

"He get specific?" Bobby glances around.

Jamie is shaking her head. "No."

Dena lifts his hand. "We're just a little freaked out that he might have left a bomb somewhere. So please tell us you have actual good news."

Bobby sighs and then looks away. "Chicago's about to be wiped off the map. Storm of the millennium. Sets off a daisy chain of natural disasters. Three million people are gonna die."

Jamie groans, putting her face in her hand. "Ugh."

"Huh." Dean lets his face drop into his arm. Sam looks defeated.

Castiel leans against his arm. "I don't understand your definition of good news."

Bobby gives him a look. "Well...Death, the horseman - he's gonna be there. And if we can stop him before he kick-starts this storm, get his ring back –"

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, you make it sound so easy." He says sarcastically.

Bobby raises his arms in frustration. "Hell, I'm just trying to put a spin on it."

Sam sighs, trying to calm the tension. "Well...Bobby, h-how'd you put all this together, anyways?"

Bobby doesn't answer right away. "I had, you know...Help." He says quietly.

Dean looks up suspiciously. "How? Jamie's been with Cas" He gestures back to his sister. "and then with us."

There's a clink and someone is pouring a glass of whiskey in the fridge. The Winchesters turn to see Crowley. "Oh please. Don't be so modest. I barely helped at all." He walks into the study. Cas and Jamie look up. He sniffs the glass and then sets it down. "Hello, boys. Pleasure, et cetera." He looks at Jamie. "Prophetess. We finally meet face to face."

Jamie straightens a little. "Hello Crowley."

"You know of me, I'm honored."

Jamie blinks. "Save it."

"Just like your brothers." He mutters and then turns his attention elsewhere. "Well Bobby, go ahead. Tell them. There's no shame in it."

Dean and Sam turn back to Bobby at the same time. "Bobby? Tell us what?" Sam demands.

"Bobby!" Jamie exclaims.

Bobby shrugs. "World's gonna end. Seems stupid to get all precious over one little...Soul.

"You sold your soul?" Dean demands. Castiel sighs and shakes his head. Jamie leans into his arms.

Crowley smiles. "Oh, more like pawned it. I fully intend to give it back."

"Well, then give it back!" Dean yells.

"I will."

"Now!" Dean and Jamie both yell.

"Did you kiss him?" Sam asks after a beat.

"Sam!"

"Just wondering."

The three siblings immediately turn to Bobby. It takes him a minute to answer. "No!" Crowley clears his throat and holds out his phone which has a picture of him and Bobby kissing on it. Dean, Jamie, and Sam stare at it. "Why'd you take a picture?"

"Why do you have to use tongue?"

Jamie looks between Crowley and Bobby. "The hell?"

Dean shakes his head, getting up. "All right. You know what? I'm sick of this. Give him his soul back now."

Crowley stares at him. "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

Jamie takes a step forward. Dean waits for an answer.

"I won't, all right? It's insurance."

"What are you talking about?"

Crowley gestures to him. "You kill demons." He points at Jamie. "That's Michael's prophetess." He turns to Sam. "Gigantor over there has a temper issue about it. But you won't kill me... As long as I have that soul in the deposit box."

"You son of a bitch." Bobby mutters.

"I'll return it. After all this is over, and I can walk safely away. Do we all understand each other?"

Dean is riffling through the trunk of the Impala. Jamie hands him various things and he puts them inside. Sam walks over and leans against the car, sighing. Dean looks up. "Let me guess. We're about to have a talk."

Jamie looks up. "Looks that way, don't it." She slams the trunk shut and leans against it. Dean walks over closer to Sam.

Sam looks at his sister and then to Dean. "Look, Dean, um...For the record...I agree with you. About me. You think I'm too weak to take on Lucifer. Well, so do I. Believe me, I know exactly how screwed up I am. You, Jamie, Bobby, Cas...I'm the least of any of you."

Dean sighs, turning away and crossing his arms. "Oh, Sam..."

"No, it's true. It is. But...I'm also all we got. If there was another way...But I don't think there is." Dean looks back at Sam. Jamie moves over to Sam's other side. "There's just me. So I don't know what else to do. Except just try t-to do what's got to be done." Jamie wraps her arms around him.

"And...Scene." The siblings turn to see Crowley. "There's something you need to see." He hands a newspaper to Sam. Jamie pulls the paper down so she can see it too.

Sam looks at the paper and starts reading. "Niveus pharmaceuticals is rushing delivery of its new swine-flu vaccine to "stem the tide of the unprecedented outbreak." Uh, shipments leave Wednesday."

Crowley stares at them. "Niveus pharmaceuticals. Get it?" Jamie starts to say something. "Not you, Jamie." Dean and Sam look at each other and shake their heads. "You two are lucky you have your looks. Your demon lover, Brady? V.P. of distribution, Niveus." Dean and Sam look at each other and then at Jamie, realization dawning. "Ah, yes, that the sound of the abacus clacking? We all caught up?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Son of a bitch."

"So, pestilence was spreading swine flu." Sam says.

Dean nods. "Yeah, but not just for giggles. That was step one. Step two is the vaccine. And you think –"

Jamie cuts him off. "I know. That vaccine is chock-full of grade-a, farm-fresh croatoan virus."

Sam shakes his head. "Simultaneous, countrywide distribution. It's quite a plan."

Crowley nods. "They don't get to be horsemen for nothing. So, you three better stock up on...Well, everything. This time next Thursday, we'll all be living in zombieland."

An alarmed look passes between the Winchester siblings. "Bobby!" Sam yells, taking off for the house.

"Cas!" Jamie and Dean echo, following him. Crowley shrugs and disappears.

That night Sam packs inside the house. Dean puts water on his face. Jamie laces her boots and grabs her utility jacket.

Outside Bobby is putting things in a bag in the garage. Cas is standing in front of the open van holding a shotgun and looking depressed. "What's your problem?" Bobby asks.

"This is what they mean by "the 11th hour," right?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, it's the 11th hour, and I am useless. All I have is this." He waves a shotgun. "What am I even supposed to do with it?"

"Point it and shoot."

Castiel rolls his eyes. Jamie walks over and puts a bag in the van.

"What I used to be –"

Jamie looks up. "Cas…"

Bobby huffs. "Are you really gonna bitch -to me? Quit pining for the varsity years..."He throws the bag into Cas's arms. "And load the damn truck."

Castiel throws the bag in. Dean slams the trunk of the Impala. Jamie puts her bag over her shoulders and then hands her gun to Sam. Sam takes it and looks down at it. "Jamie."

She shrugs. "In case you get into trouble." Sam hugs her.

Dean clears his throat. "All right, well...Good luck stopping the whole zombie apocalypse."

Sam nods. "Yeah. Good luck killing Death."

Jamie shakes her head. "Sounds so wrong."

Dean nods. "Yeah."

They look around at each other. Sam sighs. "Remember when we used to just...hunt wendigos and vampires? How simple things were?"

"No." Jamie says.

"Not really." Dean adds.

"Well, um..."Sam pulls out Ruby's knife "...You might need this."

"Keep it." Crowley appears and hands Dean a small scythe. "Dean's covered." Sam hands the knife to Jamie. "Well her, I guess. Anyway, Death's own. Kills, golly, demons and angels and reapers and, rumor has it, the very thing itself."

Castiel stares at it. "How did you get that?"

"Hello -king of the crossroads. So, shall we? Bobby, you just gonna sit there?"

"No, I'm gonna riverdance."

Crowley shrugs. "I suppose if you want to impress the ladies, not including Jamie." He looks at Dean and Sam. "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal. Fact - you get more if you phrase it properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny little sub-a clause on your behalf. What can I say? I'm an altruist. Just gonna sit there?"

Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Cas watch as Bobby tentatively takes his feet down. Bobby gets out of his wheelchair. The siblings turn to each other. Sam grins.

"I'll be damned." Jamie whispers.

"Son of a bitch." Bobby mutters.

"Yes, I know. Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."

Dean smiles. Jamie steps out from Dean's side. She and Bobby look at each other and then hug. Bobby pulls back at looks at Crowley. "Thanks."

"This is getting maudlin. Can we go?" He gestures to Dean.

Dean and Crowley get into the Impala. Bobby and Sam get in the van. Jamie hangs back. "Cas."

Castiel turns around and grabs unto Jamie. "I…feel very odd right now." Jamie snickers. She leans in and kisses him. He kisses her back. They wrap their arms around each other, deepening the kiss.

"Jamie!" Dean yells from the Impala.

"Cas! Now!" Sam yells from the van.

They pull apart. Jamie gets into the Impala and Castiel gets into Bobby's van.

It's morning, Dean, Jamie, and Crowley are walking down a street. It's freezing, Dean and Jamie pull their jackets tighter around them. "Hey, let's stop for pizza." Crowley says, turning to them.

"What?" Jamie asks.

"Are you kidding?" Dean asks.

"Just heard it was good." They walk to the end of street. Jamie gasps. Crowley stops them both. "That's all. Up ahead. Big, ugly building. Ground zero. Horseman's stable, if you will. He's in there."

"How do you know?" Dean asks.

"Have you met me? 'cause I know."

"Reapers." Jamie says quietly.

Crowley nods. "Also, the block is squirming with reapers. I'll be right back." Jamie steps in front of Dean. Crowley disappears and reappears again. "Boy, is my face red. Death's not in there."

"You want to cut the cute and get to the part where you tell us where he is?" Dean demands.

"Sorry. I don't know." Crowley starts to walk away.

"Oh God." Jamie mutters.

Dean runs after Crowley. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. You don't know?"

"Signs pointed. I-I'm just as shocked as you." He turns around. "Jamie?"

Jamie is still standing in the same spot. She looks up. "If I could find Death don't you think I would've? Some things I can't see."

Crowley tilts his head. "Interesting. Is it Michael doing that? Because I heard you ganked Famine and Pestilence didn't even make you twitch." Jamie catches up with them. Crowley starts walking again.

"Who cares? Bobby sold his soul for this!"

Crowley stops and turns back to Dean. "Relax. All deals are soul back or store credit. We'll catch Death in the next doomed city."

Jamie and Dean look at each other. Dean turns back to Crowley, obviously pissed off. "Millions, Crowley. Millions of people are about to die any minute."

"True. So I strongly suggest we get out of here." Crowley turns around.

Dean and Jamie follow after him. They cross the street and get into the Impala. Crowley is sitting shot gun. Jamie suddenly looks up. "Dean! I think I know where Death is."

Dean and Crowley turn to her. "So, what? Where? Jamie?"

Jamie is looking around. "Hang…" Crowley has disappeared.

"Come on!"

"Dean." Jamie points across the street.

Crowley speaks to Dean from across the street in front of a pizzeria. "What? I can't hear you!"

"This is it, he's there."

Crowley appears back in the front seat. "I said I found him. Death -he's in there."

"You coming or..."Crowley disappears again. "...Not."

Jamie gets out of the Impala. "Come on."

Dean gets out beside her and they go inside. Jamie goes in first. They see that the waitresses and customers are all dead. Dean closes the door as quietly as possible. Jamie turns to Dean and he frowns. They slowly walk forward, seeing a man sitting down and eating. Jamie gets in front of Dean. They approach Death, the scythe heats up, Dean drops it and it clatters to the floor. Jamie looks at Dean, they cringe. It reappears on the table Death is sitting at. "Thanks for returning that."

"Was that…"

"Supposed to happen?" Jamie finishes. She shrugs.

"Jamie, Dean join me. The pizza's delicious." Death has still not turned to look at them. Dean looks around. Jamie shakes her head and gestures to the table. They slowly walk over. "Sit down. Took you long enough to find me. I've been wanting to talk to you."

Dean clears his throat. "I got to say -I have mixed feelings about that. S-so is this the part where...where you kill us? Cause I…Jamie….run!"

Jamie shakes her head, sinking down in her chair. "Way too late for that, Dean." Death raises his hand and looks at them, specifically at Dean.

"You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well...Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you." Death gestures to the pizza. "Eat." Dean takes a bite of the pizza. "Good, isn't it?" Jamie takes a bite.

Dean still looks uneasy. "Well, I got to ask. How old are you?"

"Old." Jamie mutters, taking another bite of pizza. "Older then time itself."

Death glances at Jamie. "As old as God. Maybe older. Neither of us can remember anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless - at the end, I'll reap him, too."

Jamie's fork clatters to the table. "God? You'll reap God?"

Dean looks on in disbelief. "What?"

Death looks up. "Oh, yes. God will die, too."

Dean tries to smile. "Well, this is way above my pay grade."

He looks at his sister. Jamie is wide eyed. "It's above my pay grade." She gestures to herself.

"Just a bit."

Dean looks around. "So, then why are we still breathing, sitting here with you? Uh...w-what do you want?"

Death looks up at him. "The leash around my neck -off. Lucifer has me bound to him. Some unseemly little spell. He has me where he wants, when he wants. That's why I couldn't go to you. I had to wait for you to catch up. He made me his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than either of you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child with a temper tantrum."

Dean looks up. "And you think...we can unbind you?"

"There's your ridiculous bravado again."

"That isn't what we think." She glares at Dean and then turns back to Death. "We can't."

"Very good, Jamie. She's right, you can't. But you can help me take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun. I understand you want this." Death holds up his ring.

Dean nods. "Yeah."

"I'm inclined to give it to you."

"To give it to me?" Dean looks at Jamie. She nods.

"He's serious."

"That's what I said."

"But what about..."

"Chicago? I suppose it can stay. I like the pizza." He takes his ring off and holds it out to them. "There are conditions."

"Okay. Like?"

"You have to do whatever it takes to put Lucifer in his cell."

Jamie looks up, her face twisted in shock. "Wh…"

Dean cuts her off. "Of course."

"Whatever it takes."

" That's the plan."

Jamie grabs Dean's jacket. "No, Dean. That isn't…he's talking about..." She looks at Death.

"Your brother. He's the one that can stop Lucifer. The only one."

"What?" He looks at Jamie.

Jamie nods. "Yes."

Dean looks at her and then at Death. "You think –"

"I know. So, I need a promise. You two are going to let your brother jump right into that fiery pit." He holds the ring towards Dean. "Well, do I have your word?" Jamie is nodding her head. "Dean?"

It takes him a minute. "Okay, yeah. Yes."

Dean holds his hand out for the ring. "That had better be "yes," Dean. You know you can't cheat death." He drops the ring into Dean's hand. "Now, would you like the instruction manual or can you handle this, Jamie?" Death gestures to his head. Jamie swallows.

"I've got it." Outside the storm has stopped.

Dean and Jamie are back in Bobby's garage. Dean has the rings all laid out. "Watch." Jamie tells him. The rings all pull together. Dean nods.

"You got the incantation memorized?"

"Of course. Now if you don't mind, there's an angel waiting for me." Jamie starts to leave and Dean grabs her shirt and pulls her into a hug. Bobby moves a barrel aside with his foot, startling them. Jamie smirks when she sees it's Bobby. "Hey."

Dean looks at him. "Well, how'd it go at the Rockettes audition?"

"Well, high kicks - fair. Boobs need work. I walked up and down stairs all night for no damn reason. I'm sore. Feels so good, I'm scared it's a dream. But then I remember that the world's dying bloody, so, drink?" Bobby hands the two of them a beer.

"Bobby watch this." Jamie says, taking her beer.

"Check it out." Dean and Jamie show Bobby how the rings link together.

"Hmm. Oh. So death told you how to operate those? The whole deal?"

Jamie nods. "Straight from his own head."

"Yeah. It's nuts. Of course, I got bigger problems now."

"Really? Like?"

"Dean lied to Death." Jamie takes a sip of her beer.

"Yeah, what do you think Death does to people who lie to his face?"

Bobby looks at him. "Nothing good."

"Told you." Jamie broods.

Dean rolls his eyes. "Yeah."

"What'd you say?"

"That I was cool with Sam driving the bus on the whole Lucifer plan."

"So Death thinks Sam ought to say yes, huh?"

"I don't know."

Jamie looks at Bobby. "Yeah."

"Hmm."

"But, I mean, of course he'd say that. He works for Lucifer."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Against his will."

"Yup."

"Well, I'd say, take his sob story with a fat grain of salt. I mean, he is Death."

"Exactly. He's Death. Think of the kind of bird's-eye view." Bobby tells Dean.

Jamie shakes her head. "Jesus." She drinks her beer.

Dean looks at her. "Seriously?" She shrugs.

"I'm just saying –"

"Well, don't. Jamie, how can you let Sam go to hell? You begged me not to die, remember?" Dean practically yells in her face.

Jamie take a step back, looking up at him. "I don't want this to happen, Dean. But this is different."

"How?"

Jamie sighs. "He can beat Lucifer."

Dean shakes his head. "What if he doesn't? He's still your brother. If he says yes, it's storytime for the world, authored by Jamie Winchester."

Jamie's eyes widen in anger. "I know that!"

"Aren't you afraid of that?"

Jamie looks down and shakes her head. "I'm terrified." She mutters. "But I'm not fighting it anymore."

"Because it's not me whose Michael's vessel anymore. It's Adam." Dean turns away.

Jamie looks up. "Dean."

"No." He turns back to her. "That's why isn't it? It's because you'll always choose me over Sam."

Jamie throws her beer down. "Is that what you think? That I love you more then I love Sam?"

"No." He gets in her face. "But I think when it comes down to it, I'm more important to you then Sam is. So if one of us has to die, you'd rather it be him." He stares into her eyes. She stares back at him.

"How can you…" She rears back and smacks him across the face before walking away.

Bobby scoffs. "Smart idea, burning bridges with your sister."

Dean rubs his cheek, turning to Bobby. "Don't start."

"She loves your stupid ass, you idjit."

"She worships the ground I walk on like I'm some damned saint." He opens his beer and takes a drink.

Bobby nods. "Yeah she does. And I would be pretty damned grateful for that, if I were you, because otherwise she would not be apart of your life."

Dean looks down. "I guess."

"And she loves Sam too. This isn't any easier for her. He is her brother too."

Dean looks up at him and sighs. "What happened to you being against this?"

"Look, I'm not saying Sam ain't an ass-full of character defects. But..."

"But what?"

"Back at Niveus? I watched that kid pull one civilian out after another. Must have saved 10 people. Never stopped. Never slowed down. We're hard on him, Dean. We've always been. But in the meantime... He's been running into burning buildings since he was, what, 12?"

Dean takes another drink. "Pretty much."

"Look, Sam's got a...Darkness in him. I'm not saying he don't. But he's got a hell of a lot of good in him, too."

Dean sighs. "I know."

"Then you know Sam will beat the devil...Or die trying. That's the best we could ask for. So I got to ask, Dean. What exactly are you afraid of? Losing? Or losing your brother?" He stares at Dean and Dean doesn't answer.


	33. 522 Swan Song

Sam sits on the hood of the Impala in Bobby's yard drinking a beer. Jamie is sitting beside him. Dean joins them, taking the last beer out of the cooler. "I'm sorry for what I said, Jamie."

Jamie looks up. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." He goes over and hugs her. "You're my sister, and I love you. I shouldn't have said any of that."

"Dean? What's going on?" Sam asks.

Dean pulls back and looks at him. "I'm in."

"In with...?"

"The whole "up with Satan" thing. I'm on board."

Sam looks surprised. "You're gonna let me say yes?"

"No. That's the thing. It's not on me to let you do anything. You're a grown - well, overgrown - man. If this is what you want, I'll back your play."

Sam sighs. "That's the last thing I thought you'd ever say."

"Might be." Sam scoffs. "I'm not gonna lie to you, though. It goes against every fiber I got. I mean, truth is... You know, watching out for you... it's kinda been my job, you know? But more than that, it's... it's kinda who I am. You're not a kid anymore, Sam, and I can't keep treating you like one. Maybe I got to grow up a little, too. I don't know if we got a snowball's chance. But... But I do know that if anybody can do it... It's you."

"Thank you."

Jamie props herself over Sam. "I still think this is the worst idea ever, especially because I'm gonna have to watch."

Sam chuckes. "Does that me I have your support too?"

Jamie looks at Dean and then down at Sam. "Yes." Sam kisses her cheek and she shrieks.

Dean sighs, the twins get serious again. Dean's choked up. "If this is what you want... Is this really what you want?"

Sam nods. "I let him out. I got to put him back in."

"Okay. That's it, then."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

Bodies, hang upside down over a devil's trap in an abandoned warehouse. Figures exit the building carrying gallon jugs of blood. Sam, Dean, and Castiel come out of the building carrying gallon jugs filled with blood. Bobby's car is near the Impala. He and Jamie are there waiting. Dean goes over to them while Sam and Cas load the jugs into the trunk. He's wiping blood off his face. "I still can't get used to you at eye level."

"So, was I right?" Bobby asks.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "You mean was I right?"

Dean smirks. "As always. Two stunt demons inside, just like you said."

"Did you get it?"

Jamie nods towards the Impala. "Looks that way." She looks back at her brother. "Dean you have-" She gestures to the blood on his face. Dean reaches up and wipes it off.

"Yeah, all the "go juice" Sammy can drink."

"You okay?"

"Not really. What do you got?" He gestures to the papers in Bobby's hand.

"Not much. These look like omens to you? Cyclone in Florida, wildfires in L.A."

Jamie pulls out another paper. "Temp drops in Detroit." She says reliantly, handing it to Bobby.

Dean looks toward her. "Wait. What about Detroit?"

"Temp's dropped about 20 degrees, but only in a five-block radius of downtown Motown." Bobby tells him.

Jamie and Dean share a look. "That's the one. Devil's in Detroit." Dean says.

"Really? As far as foreboding goes, It's a little light in the loafers. You sure?"

Jamie nods. "It's Detroit. It has to be."

Dean sighs. "Yeah, I'm sure."

The Winchesters are on their way to Detroit. Dean is driving, Sam riding shotgun. Castiel and Jamie are asleep in the back seat. Cas is snoring. "Aw. Ain't he a little angel?" Dean remarks glancing back.

"Angels don't sleep." Sam mutters.

"I was talking about Jamie."

"Screw you Dean." Dean chuckles. Jamie rubs her eyes and sits up, moving closer to her brothers.

Sam glances over at her. "Go back to sleep, sis."

"Little late for that."

"Sam, I got a bad feeling about this." Dean says, glancing at him.

"Well, you'd be nuts to have a good feeling about it."

"You know what I mean. Detroit. He always said he'd jump your bones in Detroit. Here we are. Maybe this is him rolling out the red carpet, you know? Maybe he knows something that we don't."

"Not that I'm gunning to get a look in the devil's head, but it's possible." Jamie says as she leans back against the seat, brushing her hair back from her face.

Sam nods. "I'm sure he knows a buttload we don't. We just got to hope he doesn't know about the rings. Hey, um... on the subject, there's something I got to talk to you about."

"What?"

"This thing goes our way and I...Triple Lindy into that box... y-you know I'm not coming back."

Dean keeps staring at the road. "Yeah, I'm aware."

"So you got to promise me something. You too Jamie."

Jamie is curled back up against Cas. "You said go back to sleep."

"Jamie."

"I'm listening."

Dean glances at him. "Okay. Yeah. Anything."

"You got to promise not to try to bring me back."

"What? No, I didn't sign up for that."

"Dean –"

"Your Hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland. Y-you want me just to sit by and do nothing?"

"Once the Cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, Dean. It's too risky."

Jamie opens her eyes and moves closer to them.

"No, no, no, no, no." Dean protests.

"It's always risky Sam." Jamie tells him.

Dean gestures to Jamie. "As if either of us are just gonna let you rot in there."

"Yeah, you are. Both of you. You don't have a choice."

"You can't ask me to do this." Dean says firmly.

"Sam."

"I'm sorry, guys. You have to."

Dean sighs. "So then what am I supposed to do?"

"You go find Lisa. You pray to god she's dumb enough to take you in, and you - you have barbecues and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life, Dean. Promise me." Dean sighs. Sam looks back at Jamie. "And you. You tell Cas the truth and the two of you take off to some island in the middle of nowhere and have just mindblowing…"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Dena rubs his head. "Man."

Jamie scoffs. "I'm going back to sleep."

The Impala and Bobby's truck are parked in an alley. Bobby is staring at the house across the street through binoculars. He sighs and walks back to where the Winchesters and Cas are waiting. "Demons. At least two dozen of them. You were right - something's up."

Dean stares at the house. "More than something. He's here. I know it."

Jamie crosses her arms, nodding. "Yeah, I can feel it." She looks at Dean and he frowns, turning around and going to unlock the Impala. Bobby stares at Sam. He walks towards him.

"I'll see ya around, kid."

"See ya around."

Bobby and Sam hug. Bobby is choked up. "He gets in... You fight him tooth and nail, you understand? Keep swingin'. Don't give an inch."

Sam nods. "Yes, sir." Bobby turns away. Sam turns to Castiel. "Take care of these guys, okay?"

Castiel sighs, looking defeated. "That's not possible."

Sam scoffs. "Then humor me."

"Oh. I was supposed to lie." He tries to smile. "Uh... Sure. They'll be fine. I –"

Jamie looks up. "Cas…"

Sam shakes his head. "Just - just stop... talking." He walks to the trunk of the Impala, where the jugs of demon blood sit. "You mind not watching this?" He says to his siblings.

"Okay." Dean grabs Jamie and they turn around.

Jamie looks at Dean. "I never thought I'd willingly…"

"Yeah." He squeezes her shoulder. She looks up at him and wipes her eyes.

"Let's go." Sam slams the hood shut. Dean grabs Jamie. Sam walks out in front of them across the street. Dean follows him, and Jamie follows Dean. ""All right! We're here, you sons of bitches! Come and get it!" Sam yells in front of the house. Several demons come out to them.

"Well that was fast." Jamie mutters.

"Hey, guys. Is your father home?" Dean asks the demons.

The demons shove Sam, Dean, and Jamie along into a room. Lucifer is standing there, looking out the window. "Hey, guys. So nice of you to drop in." His vessel looks terrible, it's skin is peeling. He breaths on the glass, icing it over. He draws a pitchfork. "Sorry if it's a bit chilly. Most people think I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite."

"Well, I'll alert the media." Dean mutters.

Lucifer turns to them. "Help me understand something, guys. I mean, stomping through my front door is... a tad suicidal, don't you think? Especially for you, Jamie."

Jamie nods. "You can't hurt me."

SAM puts his arm out in front of his sister. "We're not here to fight you."

"No? Then why are you?"

"I want to say "yes."

"Excuse me?"

Jamie looks over at her twin. "Do it, Sam."

Sam closes his eyes. He kills the demons.

"Chock-full of Ovaltine, are we?"

Sam glares at the devil. "You heard me. Yes."

"You're serious."

"Look, Judgment Day's a runaway train. We get it now. We just want off."

"Meaning?"

"Deal of the century. I give you a free ride, but when it's all over, I live, he lives, she lives, you bring our parents back –"

"Okay, can we please drop the telenovela? I know you have the rings, Sam."

Dean's eyes widen. He looks at Sam and Jamie. Jamie looks at him and takes a step forward in front of him. Sam tries not to look shocked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The Horsemen's rings? The magic keys to my Cage? Ring a bell? Come on, Sam. I've never lied to you. You could at least pay me the same respect. It's okay. I'm not mad. A wrestling match inside your noggin... I like the idea. Just you and me, one round, no tricks. You win, you jump in the hole. I win... Well, then I win. What do you say, Sam? A fiddle of gold against your soul says I'm better than you."

Sam looks at Dean and Jamie. "So he knows. Doesn't change anything."

"Sam." Dean pleads.

"We don't have any other choice."

Jamie grabs Dean's hand and squeezes it. He looks at her. "He's right, Dean." Dean looks at her and they move back a step.

"Yes." There's a bright flash of light. Sam covers his eyes. Jamie shoves Dean back behind her.

Dean takes out the rings and throws them unto the wall. He and Jamie raise their hands. "Bvtmon tabges babalon…" They chant in unison. The wall cracks, revealing a gaping hole as the pit opens. Dean and Jamie rush over to Sam.

"Sammy!"

"Dean!"

"Sammy."

"Jamie, oh god. I can feel him." He groans, grabbing his hand. Jamie and Dean help Sam up and he goes over to the pit. He stands there in front of it.

"You got to go now! Come on! Go now, Sammy. Now!" Dean yells.

"Sam…" Jamie breathes. She gasps, her eyes widening. Dean looks at her.

"Wha-"

She grabs him and pushes him behind her. "No!"

Sam turns to them. It's Lucifer. "I was just messing with you. Sammy's long gone." Jamie rushes towards Sam, but Dean grabs her and keeps her back. "Chdr bvtmon tabges babalon." The pit closes. Lucifer takes the rings off the wall. Jamie falls to her knees beside Dean. "I told you... This would always happen in Detroit." He disappears. Dean stands there with tears in his eyes unsure what to do. Jamie cries out in frustration.

After a few minutes Dean pulls Jamie to her feet. "Come on. We gotta go." He takes her hand and hurry out of the building.

Castiel and Bobby meet them on the street. "What happened?" Bobby asked.

"We screwed up." Dean says. "Lucifer is running the show."

"He was too strong." Jamie says grimly. "And he has the rings." Castiel steps forward and wraps his arms around her. She hugs him back.

"Now what?" Bobby asks, looking at Dean.

They're standing on the street watching the news report with a few other bystanders. "Reports are flooding in - a 7.6 earthquake in Portland, 8.1 in Boston, more in Hong Kong, Berlin, and Tehran. The U.S.G.S. has no explanation but says to expect a six-figure death toll."

"It's starting." Cas mutters.

Dean rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you think, genius?"

"You don't have to be mean."

"Oh God." Jamie doubles over, one hand pressed against her head.

Dean and Cas reach for her. "Are you okay?"

Jamie glares up at Castiel. "No…I have the migraine of the century over here." Pause. "Oh God!" Jamie bends over and pukes all over the sidewalk. Dean rubs her back. She pukes again.

Dean glances down at his sister and then towards Cas. "What do we do now?"

The angel shakes his head. "I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol... Just wait for the inevitable blast wave."

Dean scoffs. "Swell. Thank you, Bukowski. I-I mean, how do we stop it?"

Jamie straightens up with a moan. "We don't. We can't."

"Lucifer will meet Michael on the chosen field, and the battle of Armageddon begins."

"Okay, well, where's this chosen field?"

"I don't know."

"Oh my god." Jamie grabs her head and doubles over. "I do." She looks up at Dean and then disappears.

Dean looks around "Jamie!"

"What the hell?" Bobby asks, walking over to them.

Dean looks at Castiel. "What just happened?"

"The prophet has been called out of exile."

Dean tries not to look shocked. "Okay. So where is she?"

"Where Michael and Lucifer will meet. Don't worry, she's safe. And she's the only one for whom that can be said."

"Well, there's got to be something that we can do!" Dean yells in anger and frustration.

Cas turns away. "I'm sorry, Dean. This is over."

"You listen to me, you junkless sissy - we are not giving up! Bobby?" He turns to look at Bobby. Bobby looks resigned and defeated. "Bobby?"

"There was never much hope to begin with. I don't know what to do."

Dean yells out in frustration. "No! That is my brother and my little sister, and this is not over!" He storms away back to where the Impala is parked.

"Mistress Magda?"

Dean tries not to look disgusted at his phone. "Um, no, Chuck."

"Oh, uh, Dean. Uh, wow. I, uh, I didn't know that you'd call."

"Who's Mistress Magda?"

"Nothing. She's a, uh, a - just a, uh... a close friend."

"Yeah, I'll bet - real close. Whatever happened to Becky?"

"Didn't work out. I had too much respect for her."

"Boy, you really got a whole virgin/hooker thing going on, don't you?"

"Okay, this can't be why you called."

"Sam said yes."

"I know. I saw it. I'm just working on the pages."

"And Jamie's disappeared."

"I know that too. She's gone to prophesy."

"Did you see where the title fight goes down?"

"The angels are keeping it top secret - very hush-hush."

"Aw, crap."

"But I saw it anyway. Perks of being a prophet. It's tomorrow, high noon - place called Stull Cemetery."

"Stull Ceme- Wait. I know that. That's - that's an old boneyard outside of Lawrence. Why Lawrence?"

"I don't know. It all has to end where it started, I guess."

"All right, Chuck, look, you know of any way to short-circuit this thing?"

"Besides the rings? No. I'm sorry."

"Well, do you have any idea what's gonna happen next?"

"I wish that I did. But I-I just - I honestly don't know yet."

"All right. Thanks, Chuck."

Dean gets out of the Impala just as Bobby and Castiel walk towards him. "You goin' someplace?" Bobby asks. Castiel and Dean share a look. "You're goin' to do somethin' stupid. You got that look."

Dean nods, leaning against his car. "I'm gonna go find Jamie…and talk to Sam."

"You just don't give up."

"It's Sam!" Dean yells.

"If you couldn't reach him here, you're certainly not gonna be able to on the battlefield." Castiel tells him.

"Well, if we've already lost, I guess I got nothing to lose, right?"

Castiel steps forward. "I just want you to understand - the only thing that you're gonna see out there is Michael killing your brother."

Dean looks up at him, tears in his eyes. "Well, then I ain't gonna let him die alone."

Jamie is standing in the middle of the cemetery field. Her hair is now black. She's wearing a black skirt slit to her thigh with leggings and combat boots, and black cropped top with gloves. Dean's amulet is around her neck. She's holding a brown leather book and her nails are painted black. Lucifer arrives. "Hello sister."

"Hello Lucifer." Jamie says gravely.

The sound of wings is heard and Michael arrives. "Prophetess. You've come."

She nods. "I have been called out of exile." She opens the book. "Shall we." Michael and Lucifer step back. "And it shall be written, in the place where it began it shall also end." Her voice is dark and commanding. "Here shall Michael, prince of the heavenly host, and Lucifer, the fallen one, meet to decide the fate of the world." As she speaks words appear in the book.

Lucifer and Michael turn to each other. "It's good to see you, Michael."

"You too. It's been too long. Can you believe it's finally here?"

"No. Not really."

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. A part of me wishes we didn't have to do this."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Then why are we?"

"Oh, you know why! I have no choice, after what you did."

"What I did? What if it's not my fault?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Lucifer walks towards him. "Think about it. Dad made everything. Which means he made me who I am! God wanted the Devil."

"So?"

"So why? And why make us fight? I just can't figure out the point."

"What's your point?"

"We're going to kill each other. And for what? One of Dad's tests. And we don't even know the answer. We're brothers. Let's just walk off the chessboard."

Michael turns away, he's considering. "I'm sorry. I-I can't do that. I'm a good son, and I have my orders."

" But you don't have to follow them."

"What, you think I'm gonna rebel? Now? I'm not like you."

"Please, Michael –"

"You know, you haven't changed a bit, little brother. Always blaming everybody but yourself. We were together. We were happy. But you betrayed me - all of us - and you made our father leave."

"No one makes Dad do anything. He is doing this to us."

"You're a monster, Lucifer. And I have to kill you."

"If that's the way it's got to be... Then I'd like to see you try." They circle each other, but the sound of a car revving and music playing distracts them. Jamie looks up from her book. They all watch as the Impala drives up. Dean parks and gets out.

"Howdy, boys."

"Dean!" Jamie slams the book shut and takes a step forward. Her hair starts to turn blonde again.

"Jamie!" He starts to go to her, but Michael steps in between them.

"Prophetess." He stares at Jamie. "You will speak of nothing but what is and is to come." Jamie sighs and opens the book, her hair becomes black again.

Dean looks at Michael. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something? Hey. We need to talk." He says, looking at Lucifer.

"Dean. Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

" I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Sam."

Michael steps forward. "You're no longer the vessel, Dean. You got no right to be here."

"Adam, if you're in there somewhere, I am so sorry."

"Adam isn't home right now."

"Well, then you're next on my list, buttercup. But right now, I need five minutes with him."

"You little maggot. You are no longer a part of this story!"

Jamie snickers. Michael looks over at her. "But he is. And as the prophet has spoken so shall it be."

"Hey, ass-butt!" They all turn to see Castiel and Bobby. Castiel is holding a bottle that's on fire. He throws the bottle at Michael, sending him away with holy fire.

"Ass-butt"? Dean asked.

Castiel shrugged. "He'll be back - and upset - but you got your five minutes."

Lucifer steps towards Castiel. "Castiel. Did you just molotov my brother with holy fire?"

Castiel backs up. "Uh...No."

"No one dicks with Michael but me."

Lucifer snaps his fingers causing Castiel to explode, spraying Bobby with blood.

"CASTIEL!" Jamie yells. Lucifer turns to Jamie. Her hair is blonde again. Jamie glances at Dean and then steps back. "Lucifier, I am the witness, you cannot harm me."

"No. But I can't have you interfering either." Lucifer snaps his fingers and Jamie is bound in place.

"Dean, he has me bound. I can't move." Her voice is breaking.

Dean tries to smile. "It's okay, Jamie. I'm gonna fix this. I promise." He turns to Lucifer. "Sammy, can you hear me?"

"You know... I tried to be nice... For Sammy's sake. But you... are such a pain... in my ass." He throws Dean into the windshield. Bobby shoots him twice with the Colt. He turns and waves his hand, killing Bobby.

"No!"

"Yes."

"Bobby!" Jamie cries.

"Do your job!" Lucifer yells, pointing at her.

Jamie casts the book aside. "Go to hell!"

"Enough prophetess!" Lucifer waves his hand and Jamie falls to her knees. She struggles against Lucifer's hold.

"Let me go!"

"It's okay, Jamie. It's okay. Sammy? Are you in there?" Dean asks, groaning in pain. Lucifer punches him in the face.

"Oh, he's in here, all right. And he's gonna feel the snap of your bones. Every single one. We're gonna take our time." He continues to punch him.

"Sam, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here. I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not gonna leave you."

"Vos mos non me alligant." Jamie chants. The wind starts to pick up around Jamie. Her eyes glow. She blinks. Lucifer draws back his fist for another punch. Sunlight glints off the roof of the Impala, catching Lucifer's eye. Sam's reflection is visible in the Impala's window; through the window he can see the little green army man stuck in the ashtray. Jamie stands up and rushes at Lucifer, readying to lunge at him. Suddenly she can hear Sam in her head. "Sam…" Sam suddenly has multiple flashbacks of his life, traveling with Dean and Jamie.

Lucifer stares. His fist unclenches: it's Sam again. "It's okay, Dean."

"Sammy!" Jamie grabs unto her twin, hugging him close to her.

"It's me, Jamie."

"I know."

He pushes her back, holding her hands. "It's gonna be okay. I've got him. " He lets go of one of her hands and takes out the rings. He casts them unto the ground. She looks at him and then they both hold out their free hands. "Bvtmon tabges babalon." The pit opens. Jamie hugs Sam again and backs up, dropping to her knees beside Dean. Michael appears.

"Sam! It's not gonna end this way! Step back!"

"You're gonna have to make me!"

"I have to fight my brother, Sam! Here and now! It's my destiny!" Sam stares at Dean and Jamie. He spreads his arms out and starts to fall back. Michael reaches out and grabs him. Sam pulls him into the pit.

Jamie squeezes her eyes shut. "These are the words of the voice crying out in the desert. Michael's destiny was altered that day. All destiny was altered. For Sam Winchester cast Michael, prince of hosts and Lucifer, prince of damnation, and himself into perdition. He fell so that many may rise. And so there was another sunrise for the world." The pit closes, the rings burn golden hot. The book disappears from where it fell. Jamie wraps her arms around Dean, tears streaming down her face. Dean tries to get up. She gets her feet and pulls him up. He stumbles over to where the pit was and falls down to his knees. Jamie stands behind him, crying. Cas appears.

"Cas, you're alive?" Dean asks.

"I'm better than that." Cas heals Dean. Jamie hugs him.

"Cas, are you God?"

"That's a nice compliment. But no. Although, I do believe he brought me back. New and improved." Cas looks at Jamie. Jamie looks back at him. He walks over and heals Bobby. Dean looks down at the rings in his hand.

Dean is driving. Cas is in the passenger seat. Jamie is in the backseat. "What are you gonna do now?" Dean asks.

"Return to Heaven, I suppose."

"Heaven?"

"With Michael in the Cage, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there."

Jamie smirks. "I bet. A bunch of angels just had their destinies changed."

"So, what, you're the new sheriff in town?"

"Yeah. I like that. Yeah. I suppose I am."

"Wow. God gives you a brand-new, shiny set of wings, and suddenly you're his bitch again."

"Dean. Come on."

"I don't know what God wants. I don't know if he'll even return. It just... seems like the right thing to do."

"Well, if you do see him, you tell him I'm coming for him next."

Castiel looks over at him. "You're angry."

"That's an understatement."

"He helped. Maybe even more than we realize."

"That's easy for you to say. He brought you back. But what about Sam? What about Jamie?" Jamie looks away. "What about me, huh? Where's my grand prize? All we got is our brother in a hole!"

"You got what you asked for, Dean. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same. I mean it, Dean. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom?"

Castiel disappears.

"Well, you really suck at goodbyes, you know that?" He looks back at Jamie. She doesn't look at him.

Dean is standing in the junkyard with Bobby. Jamie has her arms around him tightly.

_This is the last Dean will see of Bobby and I for a very long time. I might have vowed to follow Dean all over creation, and Dean might love me more than anything else besides Sam, but in truth we're very different people. So I'm going to go with Cas, and help him put heaven back together. And, for the record, at this point next week, Bobby will be hunting a rugaru outside of Dayton. But not Dean. Dean didn't want Cas to save him. Every part of him, every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Sam back. But he isn't gonna do either. Because he made a promise._

Dean is standing in front of Lisa's house. She answers the door. "Hey, Lisa."

"Oh, thank god. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Uh, if it's not too late, I... think I'd like to take you up on that beer."

"It's never too late. It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

_So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to say. But me, I'd say this was a test... for Sam and Dean and I. And I think we did all right. Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, we made our own choice. We chose family. And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point?_

Jamie is standing on white beach in heaven, looking into the water. She's dressed similarly as before in a black skirt and cropped long sleeve black top, except her hair is blonde and she has an angel killing sword strapped to her thigh. She blinks and holds her hand out. Images appear in the water.

Dean stops Sam from entering a burning house.

Azazel points a gun at Dean and Jamie.

Sam and Jamie exorcises Meg.

Dean kills Zachariah.

Sam and Dean sit on the pavement.

Sam and Dean look at each other in the Impala.

Sam, Dean, Jamie, and Andrew stand over the hood of the Impala.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean stand as Adam's body burns on a hunter's funeral pyre.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean hug.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean sit on the Impala and watch the stars.

The images disappeared and Castiel walks up and stands beside Jamie. She turns and smirks. Lightning flashes and the shadow of two black wings appear behind her.


	34. 603 The Third Man

Dean and Sam are sitting in the Impala out in front of the Campbell compound. Dean sips a beer and looks over at Sam. "Does Jamie know that you're back?"

Sam smirks. "Doesn't Jamie know everything?"

Dean shakes his head. "No, I mean have you talked to her? At all, in the last year."

Sam takes a drink of his beer. "No. I couldn't get ahold of her. Why?"

"Because I haven't talked to her in months. Not since…" Dean cuts himself off and stares at his beer. "I just figured she was hunting and didn't want to be found."

Sam looks over at him. "I tried to track her down a few months ago, no leads." Dean looks up in concern. "None of the hunters I talked to had heard from her. Hunters from Maine to Arizona, nobody had seen a short blonde by the name of Jace Winchester. Bobby hadn't even heard from her."

Dean leans his head back against the seat. "Oh my god."

"Relax."

"Relax? Sam, our sister could be dead!"

"Maybe she's just with Cas. Maybe she's working out of the country. Who knows?" Sam takes another sip of his beer. "Castiel is like in charge of Heaven now, right? There's no way he'd let her stay dead. Besides, you and I would know it, wouldn't we? We could sense it or something."

Jamie takes her strawberry blonde hair down from the towel and brushes it out. It's grown back out to below her shoulders. She pulls it up into a ponytail. She's wearing a black long sleeve top, and a black skirt and combat boots with a utility belt that holds an angel sword and a knife. There's a cellphone on the sink and she stares at it, sighing deeply.

"Why don't you call them?"

She looks up into the mirror and sees Castiel standing behind her. "Cas…what are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He stares at her. She turns around. "No. I'm not fine. Why don't you call them?"

"And interrupt Dean's normal life? Interrupt Sam's macho hunting spree with our dearly departed grandfather? I'll pass." She sighs again. "They'll ask questions, and what am I suppose to tell them? Dean will want to know why I haven't called, why I haven't gone to see him and Lisa and Ben. Sam will want to know why he couldn't track me down. I'm training your army, Cas, I've spent the last year with wings. I can't explain that." She puts the towel on the sink and walks over to him. He looks at her and stares into her eyes. She stares at him. "You've done things for which you should ashamed. Ask what you need of me."

"Prophetess…please. What do you see?"

"You ask too much from me. Far too much." She looks away and then turns back to him. "I see a great war, fought in heaven and on earth. Many fall to the sword. And you, Castiel, you lead them. But victory comes with much blood, and it's all on your hands."

"Thank you." He takes a step forward. They stare at each other, and then she leans in and kisses him. He kisses her back and grabs ahold of her. They back up against the wall and he continues to kiss her. She reaches down and takes off her belt. It clatters to the floor. Castiel takes off his trenchcoat and loosens his tie, pulling it off his head. Jamie takes off her shirt. There are black markings burned into her back at her shoulder blades. She grabs Cas's belt and undoes it. His pants fall to the floor. He hitches up her skirt. She wraps her legs around his waist. He carries her over to the bed and lays her down.

"You're getting good at this." She smirks and kisses him.

"You taught me well." He whispers, kissing her back. He reaches up and curls his fingers around hers.

Dean is seated at a table in their hotel room, looking through papers. Sam is at the other end, working on his laptop. "Sweet. Blood, boils, locusts." Dean looks up towards Sam.

"Three of your more popular Egyptian plagues."

Dean picks up a jar containing the locusts. "Yeah, but these guys... ate their way out of a cop's melon. I don't quite remember that in the King James. I wish Jamie was here, she'd be able to make head and tail of this."

"Yeah, me too. Meanwhile, a kid named Christopher Birch _was_ shot in the head last month after a vehicle pursuit. Hatch, Gray, and Colfax were the three officers involved, and they all filed the exact same police report."

Dean reads from the report. "Suspect exited vehicle brandishing a firearm. We were forced to fire."

"Just a kid with no face and a planted gun."

"Bunch of dicks. So they pop the kid, plant the piece."

Sam shrugs. "Maybe Colfax is right. You know, maybe heaven has a hate-on for bad cops."

Dean gets up to get a beer. "So we're listening to the guy with the bug in his custard? That's - that's the, uh, the theory you want to go with?"

"Dean, angels got to have something to do, right, now that we're post-Apocalypse?"

Dean opens a beer. "Like I said, Jamie would be able to map this stuff out better then we can. We should call Cas."

"You're kidding, right?" He scoffs. "Dean, I tried. It was the first and second and third thing I did, soon as I got topside. Son of a bitch won't answer the phone."

Dean sits down on the bed. "Well, let's give it a shot. Besides, he's the only one who'll be able to find Jamie. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray to Castiel to get his feathery ass down here."

"You're an idiot."

"Stay positive."

"Oh, I _am_ positive."

"Come on, Cas! Don't be a dick. We got ourselves a... plague-like situation down here, and we need you to find Jamie... do you...do you copy?"

"Like I said..." He clears his throat. "Son of a bitch doesn't answer" Castiel appears behind him. Dean gives him a look. "- he's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Hello."

"Hello?"

"Y-yes."

He imitates Cas "Hello." He looks at Dean. "Hello"?

"Uh, that is still the term?"

"I spent all that time trying to get through to you. Dean calls once, and now it's" He is imitating Castiel again. "Hello"?!

"Yes."

"So, what, you - you like him better or something?" Sam scoffs.

"Dean and I do share a more profound bond." Dean gives him a look. "I wasn't gonna mention it."

Dean sighs. "Cas, I think what he's trying to say is that... he went to Hell for us. I mean, he really took one for the team. You remember that? And then he comes back without a clue, and you can't take five friggin' minutes to give him some answers?"

"If I had any answers, I might have responded. But I don't know, Sam. We have no idea who brought you back from the cage... or why." Castiel tells them.

"So... it wasn't God?" Sam asks.

"No one's even _seen_ God. The whole thing remains mysterious."

"What the hell does _that_ mean?"

Cas is starting to get annoyed. "What part of "I don't know" escapes your understanding?"

"Cas, look, if Sam calls, you answer. Okay? You wing your ass down here, and you tell him, "I don't know." Just because we have some sort of a - a bond or whatever..."

"You think I came because _you_ called? I came because of this." He walks to table where Dean's research is spread out.

"Oh, well, it's nice to know what matters."

"It does help one to focus." The angel replies, looking through the papers.

Dean gets up. "So, next order of business. Where the hell is our sister?"

"Yeah." Castiel doesn't look up. Instead he snaps his fingers. Jamie appears. "Where the hell have you been?" Sam asks, turning to see Jamie.

Jamie shrugs. "You don't want to know."

Dean gives her a look. "Jamie."

Castiel finally looks up. "She's been with me. I needed her help."

Jamie crosses her arms and glares at Castiel before looking away. "I'm sorry I haven't cropped up. I couldn't."

Sam gestures to her belt. "What's with the angel killing sword?

Jamie looks down at her belt. She takes it off and tosses it aside. "Don't ask."

Dean and Sam stare at her for a moment and then both move in to hug her. She hugs them back. Castiel clears his throat. "I don't have a lot of time here."

Sam turns to Cas. "Wait, so - so you and the Halo Patrol, you guys aren't the cause of these killings?"

Castiel shakes his head. "No. But they were committed with one of our weapons. There's only one thing that could have brought this into existence. You call it the Staff of Moses."

"The Staff of Moses is loose on earth?" Jamie goes over to the table and looks through Dean's research.

"_The_ Staff?" Sam asks.

Castiel picks up the jar of locusts. "It was used in a dominance display against the Egyptians, as I recall."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah. That one made the papers."

"B-but I thought the Staff turned, like, a - a _river_ into blood, not one dude."

Jamie looks up. "The staff isn't being used at full capacity."

Castiel nods. "And I think we can rule Moses out as a suspect."

"Okay, but... what is - what is Chuck Heston's disco stick doing down here, anyway? I mean, don't you guys put away your toys?"

"Before the apocalypse, Heaven may have been corrupt, but it was stable. The staff was safely contained." Cas sighs. "It's been chaos up there since the war ended. In that confusion, a number of... powerful weapons were... stolen." Jamie and Castiel share a look. Jamie looks back down to the piece of paper she's reading.

"Wait, you - you're saying your nukes are loose?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "That's exactly what he's saying. And if Heaven doesn't get the staff back, we're all screwed. "

Cas indicates the jaw of locust. "We need your help."

Sam scoffs. "That's rich. Really."

Castiel grunts, and tosses the jar of locusts at Sam. "Sam, Dean, my "people skills" are "rusty." He uses air quotes. "Pardon me, but I have spent the last "year" as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. But believe me, you _do not_ want that weapon down here. Help me find it. Or more people will die."

Jamie scoffs, crossing her arms. She smirks at Cas. Dean looks at his sister. "All right. Okay. Well, if the angels didn't pull the trigger, then that brings us back to motive."

"What?" Cas looks at Jamie.

"They're talking about the case."

"Right now, we got three dead cops. Only thing linking them... is this." Dean hands Sam a newspaper clipping. "Father of slain suspect calls for investigation."

Newspaper clippings are strewn on a coffee table in a dimly lit living room. There's a man intently reading a tabloid with a front cover story entitled, "POLICE OFFICER DIES AT PRECINCT." A door slams, someone walks into the house. "Come on, dad. How many times are you gonna read that thing? You know what? We should just throw it away."

He father mumbles, not looking up from the newspaper. "Go out back and play."

The boy leaves, the father begins to cut the story out of the paper. Sam, Dean, Jamie, and Castiel suddenly appear in the living room. "Oh, Cas, a little warning next time." Dean says. He and Sam are dressed in their hunting clothes, and Jamie is still wearing a skirt.

"What the... how'd you get in here?!" The father, Darryl, asks, standing up quickly and obviously startled.

"Mr. Birch, settle down." Sam shows him his FBI badge. "Federal agents."

"But you can't just walk in here!" He protests.

Sam looks down at the table. "Quite a collection you've got there, huh?" He says, indicating the clippings.

"What are you trying to –"

"Look, we know the truth, all right? Chris didn't have a gun on him when those cops shot him. They set him up."

"Yeah. They're all getting theirs."

"And who's giving it to them, Darryl?" Sam asks, accusingly. Darryl looks down.

Dean looks at him. "Darryl? Did you kill Toby Gray and the others?" He asks, calmly.

"_Me?!_ I didn't kill anyone! Look at how they died!"

Jamie has been standing behind Cas and her brothers, with her eyes closed. "It's here." She mutters, opening her eyes. She moves away from them and looks around.

"You smote them with the Staff of Moses!" Castiel says gruffly.

"The hell kind of Fed are you?" Darryl asks in disbelief.

"We don't have time for this." Cas looks between Sam and Dean and then steps up to Darryl. "Jamie, where is it?" he asks, over his shoulder.

"There." She points.

They all turn to see the boy, Aaron, brandishing part of the Staff as if it were a gun. "Leave my dad alone!"

"That's the staff." Jamie says, indicating the chunk of wood in Aaron's hands.

"Shouldn't it be bigger?" Sam asks.

Castiel stares at it. "Yes. It's - it's been sawed off."

"Leave him alone! It wasn't him!"

"Aaron, get out of here!" Castiel presses two fingers to Darryl's forehead, he falls back onto the sofa, unconscious.

"What did you do to him?" Aaron asks, frightened.

"It's all right. He's just sleeping." Dean tells him. He points the staff at Dean.

"No!" Jamie waves her hand and staff flies into her hands. She hands it to Castiel. Aaron starts trembling in fear.

"Jamie, take it easy!" Dean tells her. He walks towards Aaron. "Listen, we're not here to hurt you, okay? But we need to know... where did you get this thing?"

Aaron walks backward out of the room as the Winchesters and Cas move closer. "Please don't kill my dad. It was me. I did it."

"Okay, nobody's killing anybody. What's your name?"

"Aaron. Aaron Birch."

"Okay, Aaron Birch, where did you get this?" Dean asks, pointing to the staff.

"You won't believe me."

"I believe you." Jamie says quietly.

"It was an angel." He says after a moment.

"An angel?" Dean looks at his sister. Jamie and Castiel share a look.

"Those liars, they killed my brother, and nothing bad even happened to them. It's not fair. So I prayed to God every night he would punish them. God didn't answer. But _he_ did."

Castiel steps forward. "His name - did he give you a name?"

"No. He just said I could have justice, but I was gonna have to take it myself. He... he gave me the stick."

Castiel turns to Jamie. Jamie shakes her head. "I can't see him."

Dean shakes his head. "He just... gave it to you? Ah, come on. He didn't just _give_ it to you, did he, Aaron?"

"I bought it." He confesses.

"You _bought_ it?" Sam chuckles. "With what? What's your allowance?"

Dean stares at the boy. "What did the Angel want for it? What did you give him for it?"

Jamie's eyes widen. "His soul." Aaron looks over at her, and nods.

Sam looks at Cas and then back to Aaron. "You sold your soul to an Angel?

Dean turns to Cas. "Can that even happen?"

Castiel looks distressed. "It's never happened before. An Angel's buying souls. That could explain why he cut the staff into pieces."

"Why?" Sam asks.

"More pieces, more product."

"More "product"? Who is this guy?"

"I don't know but we'll find him." Cas presses his fingers to Aaron's forehead; he falls unconscious.

"What did you do that for?" Dean demands.

"Portability." A second later they're all standing in the hotel room. Cas places a still-unconscious Aaron on the bed.

Dean looks around. "Cas, you realize you just kidnapped a kid?"

"Relax, Dean." Jamie walks over to Cas and sits down on the bed beside Aaron.

"If the angel we seek truly bought this boy's soul, we'll know." Cas tells them.

Jamie nods. "When a claim is laid on a living soul, it leaves a mark, a brand."

Sam scoofs. "What, like a - like a shirt tag at camp?"

Jamie smirks. Castiel looks at him. "I have no idea. But I can read the mark and find the name of the angel that bought the soul."

Dean looks at him. "How?"

"Well, painfully for him. The reading will be excruciating." Cas starts rolling up his sleeve.

Dean's eyes widen and he steps forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Jamie, why can't you just use your psychic thing?"

Jamie looks up. "Because whoever it is, he's blinding my sight. I have my suspicions, but no true answer."

"Dean. This is the only way." Cas says firmly.

"He's a kid, Cas. A ki- Sam?"

Sam is standing back, his arms crossed. He looks at Cas. "Any permanent damage?"

"What?!"

"Physically, minimal."

"Oh, well, yeah, then by all means, stick your arm right in there."

"Dean! If I get the name, Jamie and I can work a ritual to track the angel down."

"And I'm all for that. But come on."

"Dean, there is no other way."

"You're gonna torture a kid?"

"I _can't_ care about that, Dean! I don't have the luxury."

Jamie sighs. "I'll try to help, Dean. It will be alright." She moves around to the head of the bed, opposite of Cas. She closes her eyes and puts her hands on either side of his head. Castiel pushes his hand into Aaron's chest. He screams. Dean advances. Sam holds him back. They watch as Aaron screams and his body lights up from the inside. Jamie cries out, her body tensing. Aaron stops screaming and falls unconscious when Castiel withdraws his hand. Jamie opens her eyes, breathing quickly.

"Jamie?" Sam asks.

Jamie continues to gasp for breath. Dean starts toward her. She holds her hand up. "I…I'm alright."

Castiel helps her up. He looks at Dean. "He'll rest now."

"Did you get a name? What is it?" Sam asks.

Castiel has a far away look in his eyes. "I thought he died in the war."

"What, he - he was a - he was a friend or something?"

Cas looks at Jamie and sighs. "A good friend." Jamie nods.

Dean shrugs. "Yeah, well, your frat buddy is now moonlighting as a crossroads demon."

Cas looks down. "Balthazar. I wonder..."

"So we can find him now, right?"

"Cas!" Jamie whirls around and stands in front of Castiel. An angel appears.

"Balthazar. Thanks, Castiel. We'll make good use of the name." The Angel advances towards Cas with an angel-killing sword. Jamie holds her hand out, her own angel killing sword flying into her hand. She blocks the sword with her own. Sam and Dean jump back. "Prophetess. So the rumors are true." Lightning flashes, revealing black wings spread across Jamie's back. Dean and Sam's jaws drop. Jamie grits her teeth and shoves the angel back. "And by the way, Raphael says hello."

Jamie jolts out of the way of the Angel's sword, and throws hers to Castiel, rushing back to stand in front of Sam and Dean. The Angel and Castiel charge at each other and Castiel shoves him back, but he grabs Castiel's sword. He charges with both and Castiel grabs his arms. Jamie squeezes her fingers into a fist, and the swords clatter unto the floor. Castiel and the Angel grapple each other and jump through the window, falling several stories onto a car parked on the street. Jamie, Sam and Dean look at each other and then rush to look out the window. The Angel disappears, leaving Castiel standing next to the destroyed vehicle.

"Cas!" Jamie calls.

"My car." Sam says sadly.

Dean looks at him. "Okay. Silver lining."

Castiel appears back in the room. "He's gone."

"Alright, who was that guy?" Sam asks.

Dean turns to their sister. "And Jamie, what the hell are you?"

Jamie gives Dean a look, walking over and picking up the angel killing swords.

"That was a soldier of Raphael." Castiel and Jamie turn to each other and then start going through cupboards.

"He must have followed you when you answered their call." Jamie says to Cas.

He nods. "Unforunately."

Sam stares at Cas and Jamie. "Raphael? The archangel? I'm sorry, what's going on here?"

"Jamie!" Dean demands.

Castiel gets a bowl from a cupboard. Jamie looks up at Sam and Dean, and then over to Castiel. "I can explain later. Right now we have to –"

Dean stops Castiel with his hand. "No, not later. Now. Stop, all right? Too many angels, Cas! I don't know who's on first, what's on second. "

"What _is_ "second"?!"

"Don't start that."

Sam whirls around to his twin. "And what the hell, Jamie?"

"I…" She lets her arms fall limp to her sides and looks at Castiel for help.

Castiel steps back and looks at the brothers. "It is simple: Raphael and his followers, they want him to rule Heaven. I - and many others - the _last_ thing we want is to let him take over. It would be catastrophic."

Jamie walks over to Cas. "It's a civil war in heaven. I am…training Castiel's army. But in order to be in heaven, you have to either be dead or an angel. And I wasn't fond of the dead part."

"So we gave her her own wings. Temporarily."

Dean looks confused and angry. "How the hell did you do that?"

Jamie shrugs. "We ripped the grace out of one of Raphael's soldiers and put it in me."

Dean and Sam are both speechless. Jamie and Castiel go over to the bed. "The point is, we have to find Balthazar and his weapons before Raphael does. Whoever has the weapons wins the war." He pulls Sam's weapons bag from under his bed. Jamie goes through it.

"Help yourself." Sam mutters.

"And what happens if Raphael wins? What - what does he want?" Dean asks.

Jamie looks towards her brother. "Guess." She hands Cas a flask of holy water from Sam's bag.

"What he's always wanted - to end the story the way it was written." Cas explains.

"You mean the Apocalypse, the one that we derailed?"

"Yes. That one."

Jamie nods. "Raphael wants to put it back on the rails."

Dean stands there with his mouth open. "Why?"

Jamie looks at Cas. "We need Myrrh."

"Myrrh?" Sam asks.

Castiel is no longer standing by the bed. "Freakin' angels." Dean remarks.

"Hey." Jamie says looking at him. He shrugs.

Castiel reappears behind Dean. He is drawing on the kitchen table with chalk.

"Why does Raphael want to bring back all this crap?" Dean asks.

"Because he's a traditionalist." Jamie tells him, walking over to help Cas.

"What does that mean?" Sam asks.

Jamie looks up from the table. "It means Raphael will stop at nothing to accomplish this. He believes this is the only way the story ends."

Dean looks at Cas. "Why didn't you tell us this?"

"I was ashamed. I expected more from my brothers. I'm sorry."

Jamie looks around. "You need blood."

"I need your blood." Cas grabs Dean's wrist and slices his palm.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey! Ahh! Why don't you use your own? Or Jamie's?"

"It wouldn't work. I'm not human, and for the meantime neither is she." Dean squeezes his hand shut. Blood drips into the bowl. Castiel and Jamie add myrrh and holy water and intone. Smoke rises from the bowl. Cas and Jamie shut their eyes.

Sirens sound. Sam looks towards them. "Uh, Cas, Jamie, how long does this spell take?" The sirens start to get louder.

Jamie opens her eyes. "That's it."

Castiel nods. "We got him. Let's go."

Dean stops them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about him?"

Aaron is still lying on the bed, unconscious. "Don't you think the police will take him home?" Castiel asks.

The Winchesters and Castiel appear at a large mansion at night. There are crickets chirping. Dean stares. "Huh. I was expecting more Dr. No, less Liberace." They advance on the mansion.

"I'll go this way, you three go that way." Cas points.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie walk down another hallway. "So. You're what, heaven's general?" Dean asks, turning to his sister.

Jamie shakes her head. "No. Castiel's."

Sam scoffs. "Castiel has a general."

Jamie nods. "A lot of things have changed."

Dean gives her a look. "So…you have all the angel powers?"

Jamie smirks. "No. I can't…pop in and out, I can't heal, I mean I can heal myself, but I can't heal anyone else. I am stronger though. For the time being."

"How long is the time being?" Sam asks.

Jamie stops. "Until Cas rips the grace back out of me."

"This is nuts."

"No, this is war Dean. A war I'm not sure we can win." Thunder crashes, startling Sam, Dean, and Jamie. "Raphael."

Sam looks around. "Uh Jamie…do sigils work on you?"

Dean looks at Jamie. She hesitates. "Come on."

An Angel armed with an angel-killing sword is patrolling the grounds. "Hey, there." Sam produces an angel-killing sword. "Yeah, I got one of those, too."

The angel appears behind Sam, holding the knife to his throat. "You think you can knife-fight an Angel?"

Jamie comes out holding up her angel-killing sword. "Do you?"

Angel grins. "Prophetess. This fight just got interesting."

Dean appears. "Who's fighting? Peace out, douchewad." He slaps an angel-banishing sigil painted on the side of the house. Jamie puts her hand over her eyes. The Angel disappears. Jamie breaths deeply and looks around. Thunder crashes again. Another angel appears and grabs Jamie before disappearing again.

"Jamie!" Dean yells.

Inside Balthazar's mansion Castiel is confronting the angel whose holding Jamie, with his angel-killing sword at her throat. "You're making a mistake. Please. There is another way. Brother, please. I don't want to hurt you. Let her go." The angel holds the knife tighter against Jamie's throat. Castiel throws his knife into the angel's chest. The angel screams and vacates the body. Jamie pulls away, coughing. "Why won't any of you listen?" Cas is grabbed from behind.

"Cas!" Jamie yells, standing up.

"They don't listen, Castiel, because their hearts are mine." Raphael grabs Castiel by the collar and throws him back against a set of double doors that fall open. Jamie rushes towards him with her angel killing sword, but Raphael grabs her by the back of the shirt. "Prophetess, your wings are mine." Raphael reaches into Jamie's chest and rips out the grace. She screams. Castiel starts to get up.

"Jamie!" Jamie falls to the ground unconscious. Raphael appears next to Castiel and kicks him while he's down, then pulls him up to punch him several times. Cas falls half-way down the grand staircase. Raphael kicks him to the bottom and teleports there to punch Castiel again.

He raises an angel killing sword. "Somehow, I don't think God will be bringing you back this time."

"Hey! Look at my junk." Balthazar holds up a glowing crystal.

"No." Raphael turns to salt from head to toe. The salt clatters to the floor.

Balthazar chuckles. "Same thing happened to Lot's wife. Iodize the poor sucker, and your kitchen is stocked for life." He laughs. Jamie falls down the stairs and coughs. Castiel goes over and helps her stand up down. Blood is pouring out of her mouth. She pushes him away, leaning against the wall. "She'll be fine. Human, but fine."

Castiel turns to him. "You came back."

"Well, now Raphael will have to go shopping for a new vessel. Should give me a nice long head start on him. Until next time."

"Next time."

"No time like the present." Dean flicks a lighter and drops it on a circle of holy oil that surrounds Balthazar.

"Holy fire. You hairless ape! Release me!"

"First you're taking your marker off of Aaron Birch's soul!" Dean tells him.

"Am I?!"

"Sam?!" Dean yells. Sam walks out. Jamie watches the scene unfold.

"Unless you like your wings extra crispy –" Sam uncorks a bottle of holy oil. "- I'd think about it."

"Castiel, I stood for you in Heaven. Are you gonna let –"

"I believe... the hairless ape has the floor."

Balthazar laughs. "Very well." He inhales, touches his clasped his hands to his forehead, exhales. "The boy's debt is cleared. His soul is his own."

Dean steps forward. "Why you buying up human souls, anyway?"

"In this economy? It's probably the only thing worth buying. Do you have any idea what souls are worth? What power they hold? Now... release me."

"Suck it, ass clown. Nobody said anything –" Jamie pushes off from the wall and staggers over to Dean and Castiel. He looks at her and then he lowers his hand, lowering the flames. "Cas, what the hell?" Dean asks.

"My debt to you is cleared." Cas tells Balthazar.

"Fair enough." Balthazar disappears.

"Cas, are you out of your mind?!" Castiel disappears. "Cas?! Oh, friggin' angels! Come on!" Jamie faints unto the floor. Dean and Sam rush to her.

Dean is rearranging weapons in the trunk of the Impala. "Yeah, well I didn't realize I had this much stuff back here." He says to Sam, whose holding his weapon's bag.

"Well, I need some space. Kind of picked up some stuff along the way."

Jamie walks up, she's wearing jeans and her leather jacket and holding her bag over her shoulder. "Yeah you can say that again." She pulls out her gun and ammunition from the trunk and puts it into her utility belt. Dean closes the false bottom on the weapons cache. Sam places his duffle bag on top. He notices a mask there and pulls it out. "Woah."

"What the hell is that?" Sam asks Dean.

Dean looks at it. "Oh, it's, uh, Ben's Halloween costume."

"Wendigo?" Sam asks.

"Yeah."

"Accurate." Sam says approvingly.

Jamie laughs, looking at it before putting it back. Dean closes the trunk. The siblings have a conversation leaning over the roof of the Impala.

"Hey, so, uh... are you okay, Jamie." Dean asks.

"Helluva headache, but yeah. I'm fine."

Sam looks at her. "You sure. I mean, Raphael did toast your wings."

She shrugs. "Well the world is moving a little slower for sure, but I'm alright with it."

Dean puts his hand on her neck and pulls her in for a hug. "Hmm. What about you, Sam?"

"Me?" He chuckles. "Yeah, I'm great."

Dean doesn't look amused. "Really? 'Cause there's been a few times that you got me wondering."

"Come again?"

Jamie turns to him. "The motel room."

Dean nods. "Well, like where were you when Cas was, uh, giving the Holy Taser treatment to that kid?"

"I was right there."

"Really? 'Cause honestly, I felt like I was the only one raising a card."

Sam gestures to their sister. "Well Jamie…"

"Was angel cake at the time." Dean says, cutting him off.

"Hey! Come on."

"Right. Uh, I mean, I was with you, but...I don't know. W-we needed the intel." Sam tries to explain.

"Yeah, I know, but we tortured that kid to get it." Jamie looks down. Sam sighs. "I just didn't get the feeling that you - that you even cared."

Sam looks up at him. "Y- you're wrong."

"Hey man, I'm just trying to figure this out because..."

Jamie cuts off Dean. "Because something's different with you, Sam. We both see it, and you know it."

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean... I've been hunting non-stop for the past year, kind of... kind of on the wild, you know? So, yeah, I suppose I'm a little rough around the edges."

Dean and Jamie share a look. "Hmm."

Dean looks back at Sam. "Yeah, I get that. I just don't think I'm getting the whole scoop. You went to hell, Sam. And believe me, I know what that does to a guy." Jamie moves closer to Dean. He puts his arm around her shoulders.

"To you." Sam says with a bit of a smirk.

"What?" Dean asks.

"You know what it does to _you._ It - it tortured _you._ You know? I think it still does. But, Dean... I'm okay."

"So you're saying, what, that - that you're stronger than me?"

Sam chuckles. "No. Just saying we're different." He pauses, slaps the roof of the Impala and gets inside. "See ya around, Jamie."

Dean ponders, then he and Jamie walk away. "You know, I knew Sam was back this whole time." Jamie says quietly, kicking a rock.

"Yeah. I'm not mad, Jace." He says quietly. She looks up at the nickname. "Cas coming to pick you up?" He asks as they walk.

Jamie chuckles. "He better be. My wheels are in Bobby's junk yard, if that truck hasn't rusted all to hell in the last year."

Dean grins. "I'm surprised that piece of junk has lasted this long."

Jamie continues to laugh. "Gets the job done."

Dean stops and looks at her. "I've missed you, you know. I think there was a month where I tried to call you-"

"5 times a day?" She says with a grin. "Yeah, Heaven gets pretty crappy cellphone reception."

"You should have just…popped in."

"On your normal life? It's not my thing, Dean."

He looks away. "It wasn't mine either."

She frowns. "You weren't happy?"

"I tried to be. But you and Sam…"

She nods understanding. "Yeah."

Dean finally looks up and smirks. "You gonna look for something to gank?"

She smirks. "Yeah, I'm a little rusty at hunting monsters, besides I'm sure there's a wendigo that doesn't ride in your trunk."

She and Dean laugh again. "Well, you always know where to find us."

"Yeah. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

Dean nods. They hug and then Dean walks back to the car and gets in. Jamie stands there and watches them leave.


	35. 605 Live Free or Twihard

Sam and Dean are speaking to Kristen, a missing girl's, father. Jamie comes in and stands between them. "Agent Novak, glad you could join us." Dean says.

Jamie nods. "Of course." She shakes hands with the father.

"Agent Novak has a lot of experiences with missing teenage girls." Sam says.

"Right. As I was saying. Kristin's a good kid. A little naive, sure... You try to be a good parent. Girls are hard. No offense." He looks at Jamie.

Jamie nods. "None taken."

"Right. Well, we'd just like to find your daughter." Sam says.

"Last door on the left."

Dean glances upstairs. "Thanks." The siblings climb the stairs. "So Jamie, you alright?" He glances back at his sister. "You were yakkin' all morning."

Jamie nods. "Last night's dinner didn't agree with me."

"Should have had the double cheeseburger."

Sam gives a quick glance back to the father. "Whaddya think he was talking about? Drugs?" He asks quietly.

"No. Worse." Jamie mutters.

Dean shrugs. They enter Kristen's room and Dean flips on the light. The walls are painted red and covered with vampire posters. Vampire and gothic accessories are everywhere - there are even vampire pillows on the bed. "Oh, it is SO much worse."

Jamie looks around. "It kinda looks like my old room."

Dean looks at her. "Your old room was dugeon-esque. This is…"

"An abomination?" She supplies looking are one "Twilight"-esque poster that reads "My Summer Blood".

Sam snorts. "Vampires?"

"Ah, these aren't vampires, man, these... "Sam shuts the door and they catch sight of a full-sized cut-out of a teen heart-throb "vampire". "...These are douche bags."

Jamie stares at the cut out. "Cas is hotter than that." Dean and Sam look at her. "What?"

"Yeah." Sam says. They glance around the room.

"WOW." Dean mutters.

Jamie shakes her head. "Jeeze, twihard with a vengeance."

"Hm." Sam goes to the bed and starts flipping back the covers. He looks under a pillow and finds a red laptop computer. "Aha. All right." He moves over to her desk. "Let's see what we can see. All right." He turns on the laptop; it makes a screaming noise and a picture of an intense-looking fake vampire pops up. They all flinch.

"Are you kidding me?" Jamie asks.

"Th-that's just...uncomfortable." Sam says.

"What's HE so bummed out about?" Dean asks.

Sam starts pressing keys; a password prompt pops up. Dean looks down and sees a paperback book on the desk, entitled "My Summer Blood". The cover illustration is a teenaged girl in a white nightgown, asleep on a bed, while a pale-skinned, handsome male vampire stands next to the open, moonlight-soaked window, staring down at her. Jamie looks at the book. Dean gestures to her with it. "Look at this. He's WATCHING her sleep. How is that not rape-y?"

"I gotta concentrate here, Dean." Dean starts flipping through the pages. Sam tries the password "DRACULA". The laptop makes the screaming noise again.

Dean reads from the book."He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tried desperately to control himself..." Sam tries another password, and the laptop screams at him. "...Romero knew their love was impossible - " Romero? Really?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Dean."

"Dean. Shut up."

"This is a national bestseller. How is that POSSIBLE?" Dean picks up one of the vampire pillows. Sam tries yet another password and fails. "Hey, try, uh –" He thinks- "Lautner".

Sam types it in. "Wait - he's a werewolf. How do you even know who that is?"

"Are you kidding me? That kid's everywhere. It's a freakin' nightmare." The laptop rejects this password as well. Sam starts to get frustrated; Dean mouths "Wow" as he chucks the pillow back onto the bed.

Jamie looks over at Sam. "I know what it is, move over."

Sam groans. "Hey, how many T's are there in "Pattins-" The laptop accepts the password. "That's it. We're in! Ha!" He starts looking through a Facebook-style page. "All right."

"God." Jamie mutters.

Dean walks over to them. "Well?"

"Well, her inbox is full, from some guy claiming to be a vampire."

"A REAL vampire?" Dean asks.

Jamie scoffs. "That would be interesting."

"Well, uh... "I can only meet you at night...I don't trust myself with you...the call of your blood is too strong..." Vampires fishing for victims?"

"Probably just a human mouth-breather, right?"

"On the other hand - talk about easy prey."

"For actual vamps."

Jamie nods. "Yeah. These chicks are just throwing themselves at you. All you gotta do is..."

"Write bad poetry." Sam finishes.

"Huh!"

"Wow. This guy wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose."

Jamie leans in. "The Black Rose?"

Dean rolls his eyes. "Gimme a break..."

"Just reporting the news."

Jamie looks up. "Hey, I know where that is." She looks at Dean. "And it's not what you think. Not really."

Dean sighs. "It's probably just your standard-issue perv, right?"

Sam closes the laptop.

The Winchesters are standing in the alley behind the motel room. Sam is next to the Impala, talking to Samuel on his cell. Dean approaches and loads gear into the car. Jamie is helping him.

"Okay. So now, you're SURE it's vampires? A hundred percent?" Sam asks.

"Definitely. We got a pattern now. Kids go missing, blood bank van gets jumped. This is the fourth town. Clincher is, this last hit? Driver was found, throat ripped out."

"Okay. They grab kids, that's food, right? But if they already got a bunch of walking, talking juice bars...why bother with the blood mobile? It doesn't add up."

"Find the nest. Figure it out."

Sam sighs and hangs up.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean sit at a table in The Black Rose, obviously an underground gothic-esque club. Dean and Sam look out of place in their hunting clothes, but Jamie is wearing dark ripped jeans, combat boots, rosary beads, and her black leather jacket, fitting right in.

"Well, you wanted Emo chicks, I think we hit Ground Zero." Dean mutters. A waitress in a rubber suit gives them their drinks. "Thank you. You think she wears all that rubber to the beach?" Sam starts canvasing the bar. "When was the last time we had a beer together, anyway?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Give it up, Dean." She whispers. She looks around. "Sam." She nods across the bar.

"There." They study a teenaged boy in a black coat and a dog collar chatting up a pretty teenaged girl. "Whaddya think? He's hittin' on her hard enough. Real?"

"I dunno. It's hard to tell." Dean continues to look around and spies two other young men talking with girls. "Hey, we got multiple choice."

Jamie sighs. "I would kill for a headache right now. And not the kind that comes from cheap booze."

"Great. Three of them and three of us." Sam mutters. They watch as one of the men kisses another guy.

Dean and Sam watch with their mouths open, but Jamie looks intrigued. "Okay. Make that two of them." Dean says after a moment.

"I dunno, I think it's kinda hot…" Dean elbows her.

Sam sees the teenaged boy with the dog collar move to escort his new friend outside. "One's on the move."

The other man they have their eye on leaves the room as well. "All right. You go with Ephron, Jamie and I got Bieber."

Jamie looks up. "Please god let me be the one to gank Bieber."

She and Dean follow the teenagers into an alley. The teenaged boy and girl run into the alley, giggling. "Are you sure, baby? Are you ready to join me in eternity?" He presses her up against a door and starts kissing her neck.

"Oh my God, TOTALLY."

He's about to take a bite when Dean grabs him from behind and throws him back. "Hey!"

Jamie looks at the girl. "Go get outta here! Now!"

"Wait, what..." He's babbling a bit. Dean slams him against the dumpster on the other side of the alley. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Open your mouth!" Jamie demands.

"You heard the lady." The boy obeys, revealing fangs - just two, on his canine teeth. Dean is disgusted. "Take those out. Take 'em out!" The boy pulls off the fake fangs. "Oh, for the love of... What're you, twelve?" He takes a closer look. "Are you wearing GLITTER?"

Jamie shakes her head in disgust. "Oh Jesus. I'm gonna go find Sam." She starts walking away. Suddenly she stops and doubles over. "Oh, not again." She says quietly, leaning against the wall.

"I only do it to get laid, man!

Dean is suddenly interested. "Does it work?" The boy shrugs and nods slightly. "I'll be damned."

"Dean!" Jamie yells.

"All right, mmmbop your way outta here. Go, go!" The boy runs off. "And use a condom!"

Dean walks over to Jamie. "Hey, you okay?"

She looks at him. "Yeah, just nauseous as hell," She leans against the wall. "Weird though no migraine." He stops and looks at her. He has a flashback from when he was sent to 2014. He hears Jamie's voice. "I lost a baby… 2011…a nest of vampires." Jamie stares at him. "Dean, what is it?"

He helps her straighten up."Go back to the car."

She gives him a look. "We gotta get Sam."

"I'll get Sam. You go back to the car."

"I'm fine now, Dean."

"Jamie, don't argue with me on this! Please. Go back to the car."

"Okay." She heads towards the parking lot. Dean starts to walk away.

"You're pretty..."

Dean turns and finds himself face-to-face with a vampire, Boris. "I'm sorry?"

"I said...you're pretty."

"Sorry again, pal. I don't play for your team."

Boris grabs Dean and launches him through the air. Dean lands on the dumpster, hard, and rolls off into a pile of garbage bags. He takes a few moments to recover, his vision blurry. As Boris lazily approaches him, Dean, dazed, grabs hold of a large pipe and takes a swing at Boris, who ducks the attack easily. He soon has Dean pinned against the dumpster and begins punching him into submission. Sam walks into the alley, quickly surveys the situation, and runs a few steps. But he suddenly stops and just watches, as if fascinated. Boris by now has Dean completely at his mercy. He pins Dean with his right arm, just below his throat; Boris then brings his left wrist up to his fangs and bites. Dean is helpless, unable to move; Boris smears his blood over Dean's mouth. Dean makes a guttural noise in protest, but can't defend himself. A corner of Sam's mouth twitches upward into a little smirk. After he's sure that Dean has swallowed some of Boris' blood, Sam pulls his machete out of his coat. "NO!"

Sam rushes Boris, who releases Dean; the latter collapses onto the ground. Jamie rushes back into the alley. She gasps, seeing Sam and Boris stop and size one another up for a second. She rushes over to Dean. Sam makes a few slashes with the machete, which Boris deftly evades. He laughs and makes a "bye-bye" wave before running away and climbing up the wall and escaping. Dean lies on the ground next to the dumpster, panting, blood all over his mouth. Jamie has ahold of his shirt, holding him up.

"Sammy..." He says weakly.

"Oh God." Jamie pants.

Sam does his best to look shocked and concerned.

Back in the motel room Sam shuts the curtains; Dean holds his hand to his head. The regular noises of the city - cars, horns, sirens - are now amplified in his head. "Oh my God, what is that SOUND?"

"What sound, Dean?"

Dean pushes over the lamp and it crashes to the floor. The siren and honking of a passing fire truck gets louder. He hears the muffled sounds of the TV in the neighboring room. He pounds on the wall. "Hey, c'mon, keep it down, dammit!" He turns and winces at the lit bulbs of the lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling. "Please, PLEASE shut that off...geez..."

Sam turns the light off. Every noise is deafening, from his footsteps to the click of the lightswitch. Now Sam's steady heartbeat reaches Dean's ears. "Dean...you should sit down... "

"YOU sit down." He sits on the edge of one of the beds and cradles his head in his hand. A passing freight train pounds into his ears. "Of all the ways to die, I never thought I'd be going out like this."

"Dean, nobody is "going out".

Jamie walks in carrying a pile of papers. Dean hears a loud, mechanical ticking sound. He looks over to the nightstand and watches as the alarm clock flips over to 11:11 pm. He gets up. "Dean?" Jamie asks.

"It's THAT..."

"What?"

Dean roughly rips the clock's cord out of the wall, which causing sparks to shoot out. He faces Sam and Jamie. "Samuel is gonna kill me when he gets here."

Sam shakes his head. "No, Dean, he's not!"

Jamie nods. "I wouldn't let him."

"Yes he is, cuz I'm gonna ask him to because you won't do it."

"Okay, just hold on a second..."

"For what, huh? Look at me!"

Jamie walks closer to him. "Calm down!"

"We can figure this out!"

"How?!" Sam and Jamie have no answer. Dean looks at Jamie. He hears her heartbeat and it's slightly panicky. He also hears what sounds like a second heartbeat when he looks at Jamie, though it's faint. "Jamie…"

"What?"

He stops. He's now picking up on how calm Sam's heartbeat is, especially in contrast with Jamie's. Suspiciously. "Why aren't you freaked out?"

"Of course I am!"

"Really? Cuz I can hear your heartbeat, and it's pretty damned steady. Jamie's is fluttering like crazy!"

"That's cuz I'm...I'm TRYING to remain calm. Dean, look - Samuel will know what to do."

Jamie shakes her head. "Everyone stop yelling at each other!"

"C'mon, man, I'm a monster, okay? This is NOT a problem that you spit-ball. We gotta deal with this before I hurt somebody." Dean holds his head again and groans.

"How's it feel?" Sam asks.

"NOW? Now you wanna talk about my feelings?"

"No, I mean...physically."

"How do you THINK it feels? Not good!"

"Boys!"

He crosses towards the bathroom.

"Where you goin'?"

"Bathroom, okay? News flash, Mr. Wizard : vampires pee!" Dean storms into the bathroom and slams the door. He splashes some water on his face, then looks at his reflection. He lifts his lip with his finger to reveal that his fangs have already grown in. He hangs his head and closes his eyes in absolute despair. After a moment, he turns the water on again. In the main room, Sam is about to get a glass of water when he hears strange noises coming from the bathroom. He knocks on the bathroom door.

"Dean." He opens to door to find that Dean has escaped through the bathroom window; the blinds hang askew. "Jamie!"

Jamie appears with her jacket on. "I've got him. I'll be back."

Later that night Jamie hurries up the stairs at Lisa's house. "Dean!"

Dean pushes Ben away and into the wall seeing his sister. Lisa quickly pulls Ben to safety. Dean tears out of the house past Jamie. Jamie gives Lisa an apologetic look and then follows after him.

"He's not himself, Sam. He's a monster and he's hungry. You gotta be prepared to do the right thing." Samuel is telling Sam as they sit at the table in the motel room.

"The right thing, huh?" Comes Jamie's voice.

"I told you he'd kill me when he showed up." Dean adds.

Sam and Samuel look over to see Dean hunched against a cabinet, in the dark. Jamie is sitting on the counter beside him. Sam and Samuel quickly draw their machetes. "Put the knives away boys, I got him under control."

"Did you feed?" Samuel asks.

"I went to say goodbye to Lisa...which, for the record, was a lousy idea."

"Dean, answer the question."

"You can relax, I didn't "drink" anyone."

"Thank God."

"But I came close." He slowly removes his jacket.

Samuel looks over at Jamie who steps out of the shadows. "You must be Jamie." He says, pausing when he sees her face.

"I must be." She brushes her bangs back from her face.

"You look like your mother."

So I've heard. Can we have the family reunion later?"

Dean looks up. "All right. Do it."

Jamie whirls around. "No." She says, holding up her hand in protest as Samuel walks towards them.

"Jamie." Dean whispers, pushing her out of the way.

"Okay...if you insist...or I can just turn you back." Samuel tells them.

"What?"

"What!"

"What?!"

Comes the chorus of Winchester siblings. Samuel gives Sam a little bit of an odd look, but turns his attention back to Dean. "I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean - I'm here to SAVE you." The three men and Jamie sit at the table. Samuel opens his journal and slides it to Dean. Jamie looks over Dean's shoulder. "That's my grandfather's journal. Cure's an old Campbell recipe, kind of like the soup. No one's tried it since God knows. What I hear...this stuff is a bad trip."

Jamie cringes. "I can tell just by the ingredients."

"Awesome." Dean says sarcastically.

"Hey - the cure is good. But a lot of this is on YOU. You drink, you're done. It won't work. I'm talking one drop of human blood –"

"I got it."

"Do you? Because you WILL feed. It's a matter of time."

Dean slams the journal shut. "What else do we need?"

"Some stuff we got, some we gotta get. Trickiest thing on the list : blood of the fang that turned ya."

"That guy was HUGE." Sam remarks.

Jamie smirks. "Down, Sammy."

"There's nothing in the recipe about "easy". Samuel tells them.

Dean rises. "I'll get it." He says softly.

"You're gonna walk right into the nest?" Samuel asks.

"Well, I'm one of them, aren't I? So all I gotta do is get in there, get the guy alone, and...shoot him with so much dead man's blood that he'll think he's rushing a fraternity."

"I should come with you." Sam says.

"No. Dude, you REEK. You're like a walking hamburger. And Jamie before you even ask, you're not getting within 500 feet of that nest." He turns and looks at his sister sternly.

Jamie crosses her arms. "Uh…hi, Jace Winchester, vampire slayer."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Haven't you been following, they WANT chicks. You sit this one out. I gotta do this solo."

Sam sighs. "Yeah, except - we haven't been able to find him yet."

Dean puts his jacket on. "No problem. I can smell him. Two miles east of town. You guys get the other crap and meet me there. Except you, Jamie. You work this one behind the scenes."

"Fine." She leans against the wall.

Dean heads towards the door. Sam and Samuel rise. "Dean." He holds out a large syringe filled with blood. "It's dead man's blood. Now, there's enough there to drop a linebacker, and then some." Dean slowly reaches for the syringe, smelling the blood inside. "Good luck, son." Dean takes the syringe and leaves. Jamie puts her jacket on and takes out her keys.

"Jamie, where are you going?" Sam asks.

She gestures to the journal. "I know where to get about half of these ingredients." She leaves.

In the alley behind the nest Samuel exits the van; Sam is already out. Jamie is there holding a machete and has taken care of the vampire that ambushed them. The corpse slides down the windshield and leaves a bloody streak in its wake.

"Jamie, Dean told you to stay at the motel." Sam says.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Thanks Jamie for saving our asses."

Samuel looks her up and down. "Sam was right, you are a lot like your mother."

"Well so much for "undercover".

Jamie nods towards the building containing the nest. "Let's go."

Dean readies the machete. Boris lifts his hand and makes a beckoning motion. Up above, Sam, Jamie, and Samuel creep through the carnage, machetes out. Headless vampire bodies are strewn everywhere. "Looks like your brother has some Campbell in him after all." Samuel comments, grimly.

They arrive in the main room to behold Dean sitting downstairs. "Jamie, I told you to stay put." He says without looking at them.

"Sorry." Jamie says. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." The siblings see that he's using Boris' head as a footrest.

Back in the motel room Samuel squirts a syringe of Boris' blood into a jar that holds the cure potion. Dean is panting, holding his stomach, hearing heartbeats. Jamie moves over and puts her hand on his back. He flinches and looks at her. "Easy." She says softly as she rubs his back.

"If this works, you know it's not gonna be a kiddy ride, you know that." Samuel says looking at Dean.

"That's great. Light her up."

"So what'd you see in there?" Sam asks, trying not to sound eager. Dean and Jamie look at each other.

"What?" Dean asks, giving him a look.

"In the nest - what'd you see?"

"Sam, I can't hear you - your blood is so frickin' loud, okay?"

"Step back, Sammy." Jamie tells him.

"Jamie. Uh. We have to talk after this. But um. Just - just back off too okay." Jamie steps back. Samuel pours the potion into a coffee mug. "All right, gimme the damn cure." Their grandfather hands the mug to Dean, who takes a whiff and recoils. With a grim smile, he lifts the mug. "L'chaim..." He chugs the potion messily, then tries to keep it down. Nothing happens. He spits a little bit out. "I don't think it –" Suddenly he spins around as he retches and projectile vomits what appears to be blood into the waste basket. Jamie goes forward and rubs his back. Sam and their grandfather watch, concerned.

"Is it working?"

Samuel draws his machete. "Either that or he's dying."

"Dean?" Jamie asks, rubbing his back soothingly.

Dean finishes vomiting and struggles to take a breath. He raises his head, clutches his stomach, and moans in agony. Jamie grabs his shoulders and holds unto him. His fangs have descended, and his eyes are bloodshot. He starts to get flashes of the evening, playing out in reverse...Jamie closes her eyes so that she sees them too. Dean using Boris' head as a footstool. Boris beckoning him as he readies the machete. Dean's face contorts in pain as the flashes continue...Dean injecting the guard with dead man's blood. Boris invading Dean's personal space. Boris sniffing Kristen's hair. Ben getting pushed into the wall.

Dean collapses into Jamie's arms, she lowers him to the ground, his body twitching... Dean narrowing his eyes and watching Lisa awaken. Dean breaking the lamp in the motel room.

Dean continues to twitch, and he struggles to breathe, Jamie rubs his chest with her fist to get air into his lungs. The bulbs in the ceiling lamp blinding him. Hearing two heartbeats from Jamie. Sam and Dean in the alley after he was turned, blood on Dean's mouth. Sam fighting Boris. Boris smearing blood over Dean's lips. Sam watching the attack. Boris roughing Dean up against the dumpster. Finally...Sam's mouth ticking upward into a smirk as he watched Dean get turned.

Dean's eyes flies open - they're clear. The world is silent again. Jamie opens her eyes. Dean tries to process what he's just seen. He blinks a few times, and Jamie helps him to sit up. Sam and Samuel rush over to help him. Sam pats him on the chest, but Dean eyes him strangely. He realizes his brother threw him under the bus. Jamie looks at Dean and then at Sam.

The next morning Dean is in the bathroom. He opens the door a crack. "Jamie?"

Jamie is packing her stuff on the bed. She looks over at him. He nods into the bathroom. She goes over and walks inside. Dean closes the door behind her. "I'm not going to throw up, Dean. It's just a little nausea." Dean gives her a look. "I don't know what's wrong with him. I've only seen what you've seen and nothing more. I don't know if something is blocking me or what, but it wouldn't be the first time."

Dean is holding a box in his hand. He looks up at Jamie. "We'll talk about that later. Right now there's something I need you to do for me." He hands the box to her. It's labeled "EPT" it's a pregnancy test. Jamie scoffs and looks up at Dean.

"I don't know how to tell you this big brother, but uh I don't think there's enough mojo in the universe to knock you up."

Dean rolls his eyes. "It's not for me. It's for you. And it's going to be positive."

Jamie's eyes widen. "What? That's impossible."

"You've been sick for the last three days."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

Dean sighs. "I heard it, Jamie. I heard its heartbeat. Something is alive inside you." He puts his hand on her stomach. Her eyes widen.

"Dean…how do you…"

"When Zach zapped my ass to 2014, you told me that you were pregnant and you lost it after hunting a nest of vampires."

Jamie shakes her head, sitting down on the toilet. "But…none of that happened. Well, okay, Sam said yes, but…"

"Well this happened."

Jamie scoffs. She looks at Dean. "Dean…I haven't…It's been…"She gets an odd look on her face. She looks at Dean and then her eyes widen. "Oh my god."

Outside Sam and Samuel pack up their supplies. Dean and Jamie enter from the bathroom. Jamie looks pale.

"Hi. So, what'd you see?" Sam asks.

"What?"

"In the nest. What'd you see?"

Dean pauses. "Uhm...well, I'm still trying to work through it, but, uh...I'm pretty sure they're not figuring anything out on their own. They're getting their orders from the top...where to go next, everything."

Samuel looks at him. "Top, as in...?"

"You don't want to know." Jamie mutters.

"Their alpha. At least, that's what I think it is. They've got some sort of psychic thing happening. He sends 'em, uh...I don't know - messages?"

"Saying what?" Sam asks.

"Honestly? Recruitment drive." Sam and Samuel register this. "Their alpha's building an army."

Jamie crosses her arms. "Just what we need. A host of vampires."

"Well, THAT's comforting."

"That's not the worst." He puts his arm around Jamie.

"Then what IS?"

Jamie looks at them. "Hold onto your boots, boys."

"We don't scare them anymore." Dean finishes.

They all look away and then break to finish packing.

Jamie is packing her truck in the alley behind the motel. Dean walks over to her. "So…"

She doesn't look up. "So…"

"We're gonna have a baby."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"You get to Bobby's, alright?"

"I will." She slams the door shut.

Dean nods looking at her. He turns and then turns back to her. "Is the father who I think it is?"

Jamie looks at him. "As far as I'm concerned…"

Dean stops her. "Out of the picture, huh?"

She pauses. "Ye-yeah."

Dean smirks. "Guess that makes me the father."

Jamie gives him a look. He shrugs. He hugs her and walks over to the Impala.


	36. 606 607 You can't HandleFamily Matters

A/n: So yeah, I'm on break and have had nothing to do, thus why I've been updating so frequently. That and I have Jamie written in for every episode I plan to do up to 8x09 (she will likely get written in to tomorrow night's episode from what I've read of the plot to far.) So it's all pretty much formatting that I've been doing the last couple of weeks. But, school starts for me next week so I don't know how much time I'll have to write. We'll see. I'm really working hard to try and get caught up with the series though. I'm starting medical school in the fall and I'm not sure if I'll ever have time to write again, lol. Jamie might have to give the normal life thing she despises so much a try in season 9. Anyway, I didn't write Jamie too much into 6x06 or 6x07 so I'm combining the two.

Sam is in the line for a hot dog vendor. Dean is walking away, talking to Bobby on the phone. Jamie is sitting beside Bobby listening. "I know what I saw, Bobby."

"We tested him. Salt, silver - everything." Bobby tells him.

"He threw me to that vamp. I'm telling you, it's not my brother."

Jamie grabs the phone. "He's still our brother, Dean."

Bobby takes his phone back. "Well, then he's something we ain't ever seen before."

"Yeah, or it's freakin' Lucifer."

"It's not Lucifer!"

"You don't know that. You said you can't see anything!"

Jamie sighs.

"Did you call Cas?" Bobby asks.

"'Course I called Cas. He's not answering. Screw him. I can't wait anymore."

"Dean!"

"Look, I get it. You're rattled. You're right to be. But let's be professional –"

"Professional? He _watched_ me get turned!"

Jamie sighs. "Calm down, Dean."

"What you saw... are you sure that's what you saw?"

Jamie nods. "Yes."

"Damn it, Bobby, yes. I know."

"Well, "you know" ain't the same as proof."

Jamie looks at Bobby. "I saw it in Dean's mind. It's what happened."

"I'm just makin sure 'Cause we're talking about –"

"- we're talking about doing something about this, and fast. It's not just the vamp, okay? He has been different from the jump."

"All right. I'm with you."

"Are you?"

"Yeah. I'll hit the books, hard. Just don't shoot him yet, all right?"

Jamie glared at the phone. "Don't you dare shoot him. Or I will shoot you."

Dean sighed on the other end.

"Watch him. We need facts. 'Cause if it ain't Sam... we don't know _what_ it is. And if we're gonna put him down, we need to know how."

"I don't even want to ride in the same car with him, much less work a damn case."

"Get in the car. _He's_ your case."

Jamie groans as Bobby hangs up. "I don't even know where to start. They're the only ones I know about that have been raised from hell."

"Well, I guess we start with everything that's been written about hell."

The next day Jamie is laying on the floor in Bobby's study with a book open in front of her. It's written in Latin. Bobby glances down at it as he walks by, his phone to his ear.

"Hey. You got anything?" Dean asks on the other line.

"We've been up all night lookin'." Bobby tells him.

"Jamie has been up all night?" Dean asks, obviously not happy.

"Rephrase. I've been up all night lookin'.Nothing fits."

"Awesome."

"You got anything else to go on?"

"Yeah, my skin crawls being in the same room with him. Why don't you look _that_ up?"

"It's on the list!" Jamie yells from the floor.

"We're working on it." Bobby tells him, calmly.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this, Bobby. You got to figure out what the hell he is and fast."

"Let me talk to him." Jamie gestures for the phone. It flies out of Bobby's hands before he can say anything. Jamie puts it to her ear. "We're trying, Dean." She says into the phone, giving Bobby an apologizing look.

"Jamie, you rest. I don't want anything happening to you."

"Dean."

"I mean it. Now give the phone back to Bobby."

Jamie sighs and tosses the phone back to him. "Dean, there's a worst-case scenario."

"What, Satan's my co-pilot? Yeah, I know."

"Well, that'd be the _other_ worst case."

"Well, then what?"

"He's not going to like it."

"Maybe it's just Sam."

Jamie glances down at her book. Knowing Dean is pausing on the other end. "I gotta go." He finally says.

"Dean."

"You got a day, Bobby, and then I'm handling this." Dean hangs up.

"Balls." Bobby hangs up.

Jamie looks up at him. "Told you he wouldn't like it."

Bobby looks at her. "You go lay your ass down on that couch" He points firmly to the couch "and get some sleep before he decides to shoot me too. He's got ya hold up here for a reason and it aint to drive me insane."

Jamie sighs, moving to sit up. "I'm pregnant, Bobby."

Bobby stares at her for a moment and then turns away. "You damn idgit. I thought you were smarter than your brothers."

"Thanks Bobby."

Bobby shakes his head, turning back to her. "You've got the worst life in the world to be pregnant in."

She shrugs. "Plenty of other hunters do it."

"You aint other hunters."

"Yeah other hunters don't have Dean Winchester watching their ass." She shoots back.

Bobby relents a little. "Well point taken, I guess. Whose the father?"

"Dean."

"Cute."

"You asked."

It's night. In Sam and Dean's motel room, Dean has an entry about Gabriel's Horn of Truth up on his laptop. He drains a glass of whiskey and sighs. "Castiel? Hello? Possible loose nuke down here, angelic weapon." He slams his laptop shut and throws it on the bed. "Kinda your department. You hear that, Cas?" He turns around.

Castiel appears. "Hello, Dean."

"Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam, and you come for some stupid _horn?!"_

"You asked me to be here, and I came."

"I - I've been asking you to be here for days, you dick!"

Castiel looks guilty he stutters for a moment. "I didn't come about Sam because I have nothing to offer about Sam."

"Well, that's great, because for all we know, he's just gift wrap for Lucifer."

"No, he's... he's not Lucifer." Castiel grabs the bottle of whiskey and walks towards Dean.

"And how do you know that?"

Cas refills Dean's glass. "If Lucifer escaped the cage, we'd feel it."

Dean stares at him for a moment. "What is wrong with him?"

"I don't know, Dean. I'm sorry." He shakes his head.

Dean sighs in frustration and takes a drink. "Well maybe you can help me with the other sibling that I'm down."

Castiel immediately looks back at Dean. "Jamie? What's wrong with her? Is she injured?"

Dean nods to himself. "She's pregnant." Castiel looks surprised. "Oh…of course. Of course she is." He stumbles over his words.

"You didn't know? You're her guardian angel, Cas, it's your job to know!"

Cas looks at him. He shrugs. "I've been…busy."

"What happened to you, Cas? You used to be human, or at least like one."

He looks down and then turns away. "I'm at war. Certain... regrettable things are now required of me." He leans against the sink.

"And Gabriel's Horn of Truth? That's a real thing?"

Castiel turns back to him. "You've seen it?"

"We think it's in town. Something's forcing people..." Sound of angel wings fluttering. Castiel has left. "Oh, well, you're welcome!"

Dean takes a swig of his glass, finishing it. Castiel reappears behind him. "It isn't the Horn of Truth."

Dean whirls around. "What are you talking about? You were gone for like two seconds. Where did you look?"

"Everywhere."

"Right. Well, nice seeing you, anyway." Dean turns away from him.

"Dean." Cas says softly.

"What?" Dean demands. He pours himself a third glass.

"About your brother. I... I don't know what's wrong with him, but I do want to help. I'll make inquiries. And I'm going right now to see your sister. I promise you, I will keep her safe."

When Dean turns around Castiel is gone. "Yeah. Thanks." Dean takes another drink.

Jamie is sitting on Bobby's couch reading through a stack of books. She absently-mindly puts her hand on her stomach. Castiel appears. He glances around. "Where's Bobby?"

Jamie looks up. "Supply run." Castiel looks very upset. "What happened? Is Dean alright?" She immediately tosses the book aside and gets up, going over to him.

Castiel looks at her. "When were you going to tell me?" He asks.

Jamie gives him a confused look. "Tell you what?"

"About this." He gestures to her stomach.

Jamie looks down and then turns away. "Did you know this could happen, Cas?" She asks softly.

"Did you?"

Jamie looks at the floor and then turns back to him. "I was kind of thinking since Jimmy isn't exactly home anymore…" She trails off and shrugs.

"Obviously we were wrong."

She nods. "Yeah."

Castiel sighs. "So…are you…happy about this?" He looks at her.

Jamie tries to smile. "Well it's kind of a miracle, right?" She and Cas chuckle, looking at each other. They seem like they want to reach other to each other, but they both hang back.

Castiel becomes serious again. "Have you told Dean that I'm-"

"No."

"Does he suspect?"

"Yes."

Cas takes a moment to process this. "What about Sam?" He asks.

Jamie looks up. "I haven't told Sam anything yet." She says shaking her head. "Speaking of, anything on Sam?"

"I haven't had a chance yet."

Jamie narrows her eyes, looking straight at him. "Why don't I believe you?" She takes a step forward, an accusingly look on her face.

Castiel looks at her oddly. "What's wrong with you?"

Jamie closes her eyes and sighs in frustration. "You tell me."

Castiel puts his hand on her stomach. She grabs his hand instinctively. He looks at her. "It's the baby, Jamie. That's why you're having trouble seeing. He's part angel."

"A Nephilia?" She asks, her expression one of almost horror.

Castiel shakes his head. "No. He is not of the Nephilim. He is beyond that. The Nephilim are sired by a vessel and born of a nonvessel. They're destructive and terrifying because their very souls are at war with their bodies. They kill their mothers at birth because their grace cannot be contained. Their flesh is weak. But you, you are the daughter of John Winchester's bloodline, a bloodline bred as vessels for angels, for Michael himself. You are meant to house angels, your womb can contain a fledgling's grace, he takes his flesh from you and your bloodline can support it. He is very powerful, though you, your powers, are concealing his full strength. As long as he is inside you, he is not visible to angels or demons from afar. But no one must know that he is sired by an angel.

Jamie nods and then gives Cas a look. "Wait…he? It's a boy?"

He nods. "Yes. It's a son that now resides in your womb." Castiel looks at her. She looks up at him. They kiss. "I still…feel for you. And now, this fledgling, this child, as he grows I feel as though my affection for you will grow as well."

Jamie shakes her head, pulling back. "No. It's not real, Cas. It's some weird angel lust thing." Cas looks hurt by her words. She looks away. "Look…if you don't want to be a part of this…Dean will look out for us."

"If that is what you want, Prophetess." Castiel looks down. "Regardless, I'm gonna find a way to help Sam. And I'm going to keep you safe. I promise."

He disappeared. Jamie puts her hands on her stomach. Tears fall down her face. Bobby walks in just then. Jamie gasps, quickly wiping her eyes. Bobby puts the bag he's carrying down and looks at her. "You okay?" He asks. Jamie nods. Bobby walks closer, not convinced. "Don't lie to me, girl."

Jamie shakes her head. "It's nothing. Hormones. I'm fine."

"I aint stupid, Jamie. You and that angel have been hooking up over for almost two years. Don't tell me you aint carrying his baby."

Jamie wipes her eyes and sniffs, looking at Bobby. "Leave my baby alone, Bobby. He's not a Nephilia."

Bobby puts his hands up. "I didn't say he was. Come over here, sit down." Bobby nods to the couch. He and Jamie go over and sit down. "Now I aint very good at this. But you need to talk and I got ears."

"It's Cas' baby. I don't know how the hell it happened, either. I didn't think I could get pregnant."

"Why not?"

Jamie sighed and looked down. "I um…when I was first with AJ, I had a miscarriage. I was 19, I was strong and healthy, I shouldn't have miscarried. They did an ultrasound and they found scaring from an old hunting accident." Bobby nodded, patting her back comfortingly. "They told me it would hard if not impossible to get pregnant, and if I did I would probably have another miscarriage." She pauses, getting choked up. Tears stream down her face. "They were right. I was pregnant the night Dean went to hell. I've spent the last three and a half years blaming Lilith for killing my baby, but it was me. It was my body that did it." She wipes her eyes and shakes her head. Bobby pulls her into a hug.

"Maybe becoming an angel healed you."

"Maybe." She wipes her eyes again. "Cas said I'm meant to house angels. Maybe that's why." She looks at Bobby and tries to suppress more tears. "I told Castiel to go."

"Now why would you do something like that?"

"He doesn't love me, Bobby. He's never loved me. We slept together like 3 times before I became an angel. And while I was an angel, there was this weird pull we felt for each other. But it was lust, it was never love. I know the difference, Bobby. I know what love is, and what's between me and Cas...and now with the baby. His grace is pulling Cas back to me and I can't deal with that. I can't deal with the lie for another 9 months."

"Jamie…"

"No. I'm not the one Cas loves. I've never been the one Cas loves."

Castiel, Jamie, Dean, and Sam are in a hotel room. Sam is tied to a chair, starting to come out of unconsciousness. Castiel is standing over him. "You're right. He looks terrible." Sam groans. "You did this?" Cas looks back at Dean.

Jamie nods. "Yeah he did."

"Cas? What's –" Sam grunts realizing his arms are bound. "Let me go."

"Has he been feverish?" Cas asks.

"Have you?"

"No. Why?"

Dean and Castiel look at Jamie. "He's telling the truth."

"Is he speaking in tongues? Are you speaking in tongues?"

"No." Jamie nods towards Dean and Castiel. "What are you... Are you diagnosing me?"

Dean walks forward. "You better hope he can."

"You really think that this is –"

"What, you think that there's a clinic out there for people who just pop out of hell? Wrong. He asks, you answer! Then you shut your hole. You got it?"

"Dean…" Jamie grabs her brother's shirt and drags him back a step.

Castiel is taking his pulse. "How much do you sleep?"

"I don't."

Jamie and Dean look at him, surprised. "At all?"

"Not since I got back."

Dean stares at him, obviously pissed off. "And it never occurred to you that there might be something off about that?!"

Sam is completely calm. "Of course it did, Dean. I-I just never told you."

"What?"

Castiel looks at Sam. "Sam... What are you feeling now?"

Sam scoffs. "I feel like my nose is broken."

Jamie shakes her head. "No. Not like that."

"That's a physical sensation. How do you feel?"

"Well, I think –"

"Feel!"

"I...Don't know." Castiel takes off his belt. Sam watches him. "What...Uh..."

"This will be unpleasant."

"What –"

Castiel sticks his belt in Sam's mouth. "Bite down on this. If there's someplace that you find soothing, you should go there. In your mind." Cas sticks his hand into Sam's stomach. Sam screams. Jamie grabs Dean's arm and squeezes her eyes shut. Cas pulls his hand out and walks over to Dean. Sam breaths heavily and Jamie walks closer to him.

"Did you find anything?" Dean asks.

"No."

"So that's good news?"

Jamie is staring at Sam. "No."

"I'm afraid not. Physically, he's perfectly healthy."

"Then what?"

"It's his soul. It's gone." Castiel tells him.

Jamie nods. "He's empty."

Dean scoffs. "Um...I'm s- I'm sorry. One more time, like I'm 5. What do you mean, he's got no –"

Castiel looks at Dean. "Somehow, when Sam was resurrected, it was without his soul."

"So, where is it?"

"My guess is... Still in the cage with Michael and Lucifer."

Jamie looks at Dean. "If I could see I could probably tell you. But that's my best guess as well."

"So, is he even still Sam?" Dean asks.

"Well, you pose an interesting philosophical question."

Jamie gives him a look. "Not now, Cas."

"Well, then, just get it back."

"Dean."

"Well, you pulled me out."

Jamie walks over to her brother. "You were easy."

Castiel nods. "It took several angels to rescue you, and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference, a big difference. It's not possible."

"Okay, well, there's got to be a way."

"So, are you gonna untie me?" Sam asks.

"No." Dean replies.

Jamie looks up. "Dean."

"Listen, I'm not gonna –"

"Sam, how the hell am I even supposed to let you out of this room?"

"Dean, I'm not some psycho. I didn't want you to get hurt. I was just trying to stop the vamps." Sam sighs. "I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again. Please let me go."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Dean." Jamie says again.

"Well, what are you gonna do, just keep me locked up in here forever?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Okay, fine, look, I get it. I get it, Dean. I was wrong. But I'm telling you I-I'm trying to get right. It's still me."

"Is it?"

"Yes. So just let me go."

Dean pauses for a moment. "No way in hell."

"Dean!"

Dean looks at his sister. "What, Jamie?"

"He already busted through the ropes."

Sam sighs, getting up and tossing the ropes aside. "I didn't want it to come to this. You're not gonna hold me, Dean - Not here, not in a panic room, not anywhere. You're stuck with the soulless guy, so you might as well work with me. Let's fix this."

Dean moves towards him. "I'm gonna be watching every move you make."

Sam nods. "Fine. Sounds about right to me."

Dean turns away. "Cas, clean him up."

Castiel walks over and puts his hand on Sam's head. Sam groans, looking down. When he looks up his nose and face are healed.

"Thanks Cas." Jamie mutters.

"All right, if we're gonna figure out what happened to your soul, then we need to find who yanked you out. You say you don't know?"

"No idea."

"Then we start a list. If it's so hard to spring someone out of the box, then who's got that kind of muscle?"

Jamie looks up. "Michael and Lucifer. Beyond that, I have no idea."

Castiel turns to Sam. "You have no memory of your resurrection?"

Sam shrugs. "I woke up in a field. That's all I got."

"No clues? None?"

Sam pauses and then looks at Dean. "I've got one."

The siblings are in the Impala and it's night. Dean is driving. Sam is riding shot gun. Jamie is in the backseat. "So you're pregnant?" Sam turns around and looks at Jamie.

She nods. "Yeah. Just a couple weeks."

"Can I?" He gestures to her stomach.

"Yeah." Sam puts his hand on her belly and then leans over and kisses it. Dean looks at Jamie through the rearview mirror.

"Hi baby. I'm your uncle Sam." He mutters.

Dean glances at him and then at the road. "I don't think he can hear you, Sam." Dean says gravely.

"He?" Sam looks up at Jamie. "You know what it's gonna be already?"

"Cas says it's a boy."

"Cas? Wait, Cas knows too? "

"Of course Cas knows." Dean mutters.

"Don't mind Uncle Dean, baby. He's cranky." He kisses Jamie's stomach again. "Whose the Dad?"

Jamie doesn't answer. "I am." Dean says.

"Wait. What?" Sam pulls back and looks at his brother.

Dean shrugs. "Just sayin." They reach the Campbell compound and Dean honks. They open the gate for them. Dean parks and they all get out. There are several hunters inside. "Gramps throw a barbecue, leave us off the e-vite list?" Dean asks.

"Sam!" Christian laughs, walking over to them. He and Sam hug. "Ahh. Dean. And this must be Jamie, right?"

Jamie nods. "Hi Christian."

"Hey. Where's the man?" Dean asks. Christian clears his throat and nods.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie throw the door open and walk in. Samuel looks up. "Come right on in."

"Need to ask you a few questions." Dean says.

"What's wrong?"

"The day you got back, what happened?"

"We've been over this."

"Well, recap it for our wingman." He points and Castiel appears. Samuel turns and looks at him.

"This Castiel? You're scrawnier than I pictured."

"This is a vessel. My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler building."

Dean smirks. "All right, all right, quit bragging. So, you were dead, and..."

"And, pow, I was on Elton ridge. Don't know how. Don't know why. I got nothing to hide, guys."

"Well, you mind if Cass here double-checks?"

Samuel Screams.

"Oh for the love of Christ." Jamie turns around when Christian barges in, gun drawn.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." Sam says, going over to him.

"What the hell?" Christian asks.

"Angel cavity search." Dean remarks.

Samuel is leaning against the chain link. "I'm fine, Christian. Just give us a minute."

"But –"

"Just give us a minute." Christian walks out and closes the door.

Samuel is breathing heavily. "What the hell was that about?"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie turn to Castiel. "His soul is intact."

"What? Of course I have a - What's going on, Sam?" He turns to look at him.

"Whatever dragged me out...left a piece behind." Samuel groans. "Did you know?"

Samuel shakes his head. "No, but I... I knew it was something. I... You're a hell of a hunter, Sam, but... the truth is, sometimes you scare me. So, what's the deal here? How do we fix this? How do we get his soul back?"

Dean looks up. "We don't know yet, but we have to."

"Well, I'm here to help, of course. What leads you working?"

"A bunch of dead ends and you."

"Well, then, we'll just have to dig."

Castiel is looking out the window. "Jamie, Sam, Dean... I have to get back."

Dean looks at him. "You're leaving?"

Castiel turns around. "I'm in the middle of a civil war."

Sam gestures to his sister. "Take Jamie with you."

"What?" Jamie asks.

Dean nods. "Sam's right. Cas, take her somewhere safe."

"Guys! I'm…"

Dean grabs Jamie's shoulder and looks at her. "Jamie, I need someone on this who understand this crap." He lets her go. She walks over to Cas. "You two tear the attic up, find something to help Sam."

Jamie grumbles. Castiel nods. "Of course. Your problems always come first. I'll be in touch." They disappear.

Dean and Sam are in a warehouse, there's a vampire locked in a cage in front of them. Sam stares at the caged vampire and walks towards him. "So you're really it. The first of your species."

"Of course he is." Dean and Sam turn around to find Jamie standing there, holding a machete and looking cross.

Dean narrows his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Watching your ass! By the way, thanks for telling me you were hunting vamps." She nods to the Alpha Vampire. "This is the very first."

The Alpha Vampire tilts his head staring at Jamie. "I know you. You're the Winchester girl. Jace, correct? Or do you go by Jamie now, Prophetess?"

Jamie raises her eyes to him. "That's none of your concern. Jace or Jamie, I'm the still the Vampire Slayer."

"Indeed. You've killed many of my children." He follows her with his eyes. "Now that you have your own child, perhaps you will soon understand how that makes me feel."

"Stop. If you utter another word about my son…" Jamie raises her machete.

"If you think you can kill me, by all means, try."

Dean and Sam step between Jamie and the cage. "Wait. Wait." Sam turns to the Alpha. "If you're the first... who made you?"

"We all have our mothers. Even me."

Dean turns away from his sister towards the Alpha vamp. "What does that mean?" The vampire chuckles. "And what's with the big surge of vamps lately? I mean, it's like –"

"Like we're going to war."

Jamie shakes her head. "I knew it." Dean holds his arm up, blocking her path to the cage.

"Why? What's going on? Why did Samuel bring you here?"

The Alpha Vampire sniffs, taking in Sam's scent. "You smell cold. You have no soul. What an oddity. Do you feel how empty you are? What is it like to have no soul?

"Answer my question." Sam demands.

"You first."

"You're the one in the cage."

"The thing about souls - If you've got one, of course - Is they're predictable. You die, you go up or down. Where do my kind go?" He looks at Dean.

"All right, enough with the sermon, freak."

"I'm trying to answer the question. Now, when we "freaks" die... where do we go? Not heaven, not hell. So?" He looks between Dean, Jamie, and Sam.

"Legoland?" Dean asks sarcastically.

"Purgatory." Jamie mutters, looking straight at the vampire.

Dean and Sam look confused. "You are a clever girl." The alpha tells her. He looks at her brothers and sighs. "Little rusty on our Dante, boys?"

"Why do you think they keep me around?" Jamie shoots back with a slight smirk.

"Purgatory." Sam mutters looking at Jamie.

Dean looks at him and then at the Alpha. "Purgatory? Purgatory's real?"

"Oh, stupid cattle." He chuckles. "Of course! And it is filled with the soul of every hungry thing like me that ever walked this earth. Now, where is it? That is the mystery. And that is what your kindhearted granddaddy is trying to beat out of me."

"What?" Jamie asks.

"Samuel brought you here... to find out where purgatory is?" Jamie and Dean look at Sam.

"I keep telling him - how would I know such a thing? But he refuses to untie me."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "You know exactly where it is. Why does Samuel care about any of this?"

"He doesn't care. He does as he is told."

"Well, if the old man's kermit... whose hand's up his ass?" Dean demands.

Jamie glances over her shoulder and then whirls around, grabbing unto her oldest brother. "Dean…"

Behind them a gun cocks. Dean and Sam turn. "Evening, guys." Samuel is standing behind them with Christian and another hunter. They have shotguns pointed. Jamie starts to raise her hands, but Dean and Sam grab unto her.

Out in the hallway the siblings are forced to give up all their weapons. Jamie glares darkly at Samuel, but Dean keeps her firmly at his side. "Wow, you know, I have seen some stupid in my time, but you take the crown. Putting jaws in a fishbowl? How do you think that's gonna end? I don't know what kind of game you're running –"

"What, do you think I'm doing this for kicks?" Samuel asks him.

"I think you got the rest of these Feebs convinced you're John Wayne. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're hiding... it's gonna put you and everyone around you in the ground."

Samuel angrily starts towards Dean with his shotgun. Dean grabs it and shoves Samuel back. Sam elbows Christian and shoves him against the wall. Jamie holds her hand out for Dean's gun, quickly passing it to him, but as they go for the clip another gun cocks. They turn to see Gwen holding a shotgun on them. "Hi."

"Gwen." Jamie looks at Dean. "Don't." He whispers into her ear. He drops his gun and the clip and sighs, turning back to Gwen. "And I thought we had something special."

"You're related." Jamie hisses.

"Vos pregnantur cum meis infantem." Dean shoots back, quietly.

In the other room the third hunter is standing guard over the Alpha. "Are you scared of me? I would be." He chuckles. The hunter advances to turn on the electric shock. "Go ahead." He turns on the electric shock and the Alpha Vampire breaks free of the restraints. The hunter turns to flee, and as he turns the Alpha Vampire is standing in front of him.

His screams echo down the hall. Gwen, Christian, Samuel, Dean, Jamie, and Sam all look up. "Grab your stuff." Samuel tells the siblings. They start for the room. Dean, Sam, and Jamie grab their weapons and follow him. When they enter they find the hunter dead on the floor and the cage empty. Dean, Jamie, and Sam look at each other.

Samuel walks around the cage. "How much Dead Man's blood do we have left?" Christian pulls out two half filled syringes. Samuel sighs.

"How long till the alpha's 100%?" Dean asks.

"Hour. Maybe less. We need to get him dosed up and back in the cage."

Dean shakes his head. "No."

"What do you mean, "no"?

"I mean, I don't know what your big plan was, but playing catch is not on the table."

"Dean –"

"We take the thing's head off, or it kills us all! You know that." Samuel looks away and sighs. Dean stares at him. "Okay. We split up. Clear every room. You get a shot, you take it. It's not gonna kill him, but dude will move a lot slower without any kneecaps. And if we make it through this, you, me, Jamie, and Sam are having one hell of a family meeting."

Dean grabs Jamie's hand and they lead the group out of the room. Jamie, Dean, and Gwen walk down a hallway. "Non est hic." Jamie mutters quietly to Dean.

"Vos sentire non potest eum?" Dean hisses.

"Ipse est reducitis alia viam." She whispers back.

"Why are you speaking Latin?" Gwen asks. Dean and Jamie look at her and then turn around. "Hey!" She hisses, following after them. "I saw you move the gun, Jamie."

"Shut up." Dean tells her.

"Sammy!" Jamie yells. She, Dean, and Gwen arrive just in time to see Christian, who is possessed, stab the vampire with the dead man's blood. He and a group of demons grab the Alpha Vampire and disappear with him.

Jamie grabs unto Sam and brings him over to Dean. There is the sound of hands clapping. Sam, Jamie, and Dean look up. "Well, that was dramatic." It's Crowley.

"Crowley?" Sam asks.

"Hello, boys. Jamie. What an unexpected treat." He walks down the stairs towards them.

"Bring Christian back now." Samuel says, walking towards the demon.

"I'm sorry?" Crowley asks.

"My nephew! The one you just crammed a demon into!"

"Oh. No. I had him possessed ages ago. Samuel, really. I keep an eye on my investments."

"Oh my god, you son of a bitch!" Jamie yells, Dean and Sam grab her and hold her back, she struggles against their hold. "You son of a bitch!" Samuel avoids looking at Jamie.

Dean holds firmly unto his sister and turn to Samuel and Crowley. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. You two know each other?"

Crowley looks at Dean. "Not in the biblical sense. More of a business relationship, I'd say."

Sam looks at their grandfather. "You're Crowley's bitch?"

"He's Crowley's bitch." Jamie hisses.

Samuel turns back to the siblings. "It's not what you think."

"It's precisely what you think." Crowley contradicts. "That alpha he's caught me is getting him a gold star."

"Since when do you give a crap about vampires?" Dean asks.

Crowley ponders. "Since, uh... What's today - Friday? Since, let's see - mind your business."

"You may as well share with the class, Crowley. We know you're looking for purgatory." Sam tells him.

"So you heard about that?"

"Yeah. You want to tell us why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Location, location, location. I'm a developer. Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and hell-adjacent, and I want it."

"What for?" Dean demands. He keeps Jamie behind him as Crowley walks around them.

"Best shut your gob. Employees don't question management."

"We ain't your employees."

"Of course you are! Have been for some time now, thanks to gramps. I don't keep captain chromedome around for his wit, do I? Samuel knows things. More than any of you, actually. Walking encyclopedia of the creepy and the crawly. And I knew... You three are so hung up on family-loyalty nonsense, he said jump, you'd get froggy."

Jamie scoffs. "I wouldn't, for a record."

"You're an exception, as always."

Jamie nods. "Thank you."

Dean smirks. "Yeah, well, the game's over."

"Yeah, well, afraid not, not if you want to see Sam's soul ever again."

Jamie shoves Dean away. "Crowley! You damned brandy ass sucking- " Dean grabs Jamie's waist and holds her back. Crowley chuckles.

"You're bluffing." Sam says.

Crowley looks at Samuel. "Tell them, Samuel."

The siblings turn to their grandfather. "He pulled us both back, me and Sam."

Sam's jaw drops. "What? You knew?"

Dean narrows his eyes. "No, Cass says it takes big-time mojo to pull something like that off, and you're nothing but a punk-ass crossroads demon." He says, turning back to Crowley.

"Was a punk-ass crossroads demon." Jamie says her eyes ablaze.

Sam looks at his twin. "What?"

Crowley looks at Dean. "Now? King of hell. Believe me, I've got the mojo. I snap my fingers, Sam gets his soul back. Or you can be...You, and I shove Sam right back in the hole. Can't imagine what it's like in there... and I can imagine so many things. So, we clear? Me, Charlie... you, angels. Job's simple enough - bring me creatures. Aim high on the food chain, please. Everybody wins. It's been a pleasure. See you soon."

Crowley disappears. Jamie looks at Sam and then at Dean. "It's time to go. Get the van." Samuel says to Gwen.

"You're letting a demon call the shots?" Gwen asks.

"I'm gonna be sick." Jamie mutters, glancing at Dean. Dean puts his arm around his sister.

Samuel turns back to Gwen. "Nothing's changed. We hunt. Period. Don't worry about him. I'll take care of it. You trust me or not? Get the van, Gwen." Gwen turns and looks briefly at Dean before walking away.

"Working with a demon, huh?" Sam asks. Samuel is packing his bag. "You're not who I thought you were."

"You don't know anything about me, son." Samuel says, looking up at Sam.

Dean walks forward. "So, what's so important that you're the king of hell's cabana boy, huh? What'd he offer you? Girls? Money? Hair?"

"I got my reasons." He walks up to Dean. "You gonna make a move, go ahead."

"Or what?"

"Or nothing. I'm not gonna do anything to you, Dean. You kids... you're my family. So the way I see it, you got two choices - Put a bullet in your grandfather or step aside."

Sam takes out his gun and cocks it. "Shoot him." Jamie demands.

"No." Dean reaches out and pushes the gun away.

"He sold us out." Sam says.

Dean nods. "I know. Let it go."

"What?" Jamie asks.

"Why?" Sam demands.

Dean looks at them and turns to Samuel. "Get out of here."

Samuel leaves. Jamie finally breaks down. "Jesus H Christ!" She waves her arm causing the table to fly into the cage. Dean wraps an arm around her as she sobs. He looks down at her and then to Sam.

"So, what now?" Sam asks.

"We can't work for Crowley." Dean hisses, hoarse.

"I can't believe HE, the king of the crossroads, is now king of hell." Jamie mutters.

"Are you sure we can't work for him?" Sam asks.

"I don't think you understand. Demons bone you every time!" Dean shouts.

"Oh, no, I get it. I do, believe me. Just running the math - Do we really have another choice?"

"We could stab him in his throat." Dean says.

Jamie pulls away. "I'll take you up on that one."

"And get my soul back how? I'm just saying, seems like we got to play ball, at least for the moment."

Dean looks down at Jamie and sighs. They walk away from Sam. "I have done some stupid things in my time, but punching a demon's clock?"

"Look, just till we find another way."

Jamie turns back to Sam. "And then?"

"And then we track Crowley down and give that son of a bitch what's coming to him. You with me, guys?" Jamie looks at Sam and then at Dean. Neither of them say anything.


	37. 610 Caged Heat

Sam walks into Bobby's study carrying some old clothes and stops. Jamie is laying on the couch reading. He walks over and kneels down in front of her to see what book she's reading. She looks up and he smirks. "The Hobbit? Really?"

Jamie scoffs and puts the book aside. "I've read everything else. Twice." She moans softly, shifting her position. "Big brother won't let me hunt as long as you guys are working for Crowley, so I read."

Sam chuckles. "Well I've got a surprise for you." He holds up a sweatshirt and a pair of Dean's jeans. "I finally convinced Dean to let you come with us. You just have to be careful not to expose the baby."

Jamie's face brightens as she takes the clothes. "Great. What are we hunting?"

Sam, Jamie, and Dean drive up in the Impala to where a couple of demons are waiting in front of a black SUV at an industrial plant. They're bringing a prisoner. Jamie is wearing Sam's sweatshirt to hide her stomach. She stands behind Dean and Sam.

"You're late." The demon says when Dean hands off the monster.

"Traffic was a bitch." Dean shoots back.

"One rugaru." Sam tells them.

"Where's Crowley?"

"Banging a hooker in a sweet spot called None Of Your Business."

Jamie smiles sarcastically. "Ha."

Dean laughs. "Oh, look at that, guys. Demon trying to be funny."

Sam glances at him. "Oh, is that what just happened?"

"Night, girls." The demon starts to walk away but stops and looks at Jamie. Dean sees this and shifts so he's standing more directly in front of her.

"Wait, wait. Hold up, hold up. Are we ever gonna see Crowley again or is he just gonna keep sending his demon extras to pick up his laundry?"

"I'm sorry. I know you're speaking, I see your lips moving, but I can't understand what you're saying 'cause I don't speak Little Bitch." Demons get in their car and drive off.

Dean turns to his siblings. "Remember when we used to gank demons?"

"No." Jamie says as she goes back to the Impala.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean return to their current base, a run-down house they're squatting in. "No man, screw it, I'm done." Dean is saying.

"Dean." Jamie says softly.

"Calm down." Sam adds.

Dean looks at Jamie, who takes off Sam's sweatshirt to reveal a baby bump. "Man, it was a terrible idea to bring you, Jamie. How'd I ever get talked into it?" He gives Sam a look. "You realize that demon could sense the baby."

"She's what, four and a half months along now? We can't hide it much longer. Besides." Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean, we need her."

Dean holds up his hand in Sam's direction. "Not to mention we've been going on these freaking Crowley runs and it's not getting us anywhere."

"Dean-" Jamie says.

"I mean, the only thing that's really changed, is now I need a daily rape shower."

"Dean!"

Sam sighs. "OK, you're right. Let's go with Plan B. Oh yeah, we don't have one. So till we do, sorry dude, stock up on soap-on-a-rope." Dean chuckles. Sam takes off his jacket and tosses it aside. "Dean, if you wanna get my soul back, that's what we gotta do, OK?"

Dean looks up at him. "Yeah… You even want it back?"

Sam rolls his eyes. "I'm working for Crowley, aren't I?"

Dean goes to pour himself a drink, turning his back on Sam and Jamie "Yeah, well, who says he's gonna hold up his end, you know? It is Crowley. You ever think of that? Right?" He turns back around to find Sam and Jamie are both gone out of sight. "So, I guess the moment's over, is that what you're saying? Sam! Jamie!" When he doesn't get an answer, Dean draws his gun and starts looking for his siblings, only to find Sam lying unconscious in the next room. A demon comes up behind him and knocks him out.

Meg walks in and Jamie jumps down from the roof and kicks her. She flies backward. The demon who knocked out Dean advances on her. "Oh please." Jamie waves her hand and the demon flies backward.

"Ugh. Is that any way to treat an old friend?" Meg asks as she gets up and brushes her jacket off.

"What the hell do you want, Meg?" Jamie takes a step back. Another one of Meg's demons grabs her, forcing her arms behind her. "Ugh. You guys get dumber every season, I swear." She jumps up and kicks the demon in the head, breaking his hold. Meg grabs her and squeezes her stomach. Jamie gasps, grabbing Meg's hands.

"Yeah, figured that would do it. Stop fighting me and I'll let your little bundle of joy live." She whispers.

"You don't have the balls." Jamie sneers, right before the demon behind her knocks her unconscious.

Sam and Dean come to, bound to a couple of chairs. Jamie is bound between them. Dean looks to her first. "Jamie? You okay?"

"I'm fine."

Dean looks at Sam. "What now?"

"I think I know who you can ask."

Dean glances over his shoulder and sees Meg. "Evil bitch."

Meg puts her hand on his shoulder. "Keep sweet talking me, this could go a whole new direction."

"Meg. I've been dying to see you again." Dean says with fake enthusiasm.

Meg licks her lips. "Well, here I am, big boy. So, what should we do now?"

"How about I rip you to shreds?" He states with all seriousness.

"I'll pay you." Jamie comments. She and Sam stare daggers at Meg.

Meg chuckles. "Kinky, I like. A little Q&A first, if you don't mind. Now, where's your boss?"

Sam scoffs. "You think we work for somebody?"

Meg turns to him. "I happen to know for a fact you've been juggling Crowley's orphans. Now where is he?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Sam tells her.

Meg turns to Jamie. "Don't look at me."

"You've been working his beat for months."

She looks at Sam. "Doesn't mean we get face time."

"Or that I get visions."

Meg straddles Dean's lap "Where's he take all those things you snatch up for him? I bet you an all-day sucker that's where his majesty's holed up." When Dean doesn't answer, she holds a knife to his throat. "OK, officially over the foreplay. Satisfy me, or I please myself!"

Sam laughs. Jamie looks at him.

"Something funny, Sam?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, Meg."

"Really? 'Cause where I'm sitting…"

"She can't do jack squat. She's totally screwed."

"Not helping!"

Jamie looks at him and gestures to Meg. "Look at her, Dean. She's furious. If she could kill you, she'd've done it by now. She's running."

Meg looks at Jamie. "Am I?"

Jamie nods. "Yup."

"Judging by the level of flop sweat on all of you, yeah. Which means you're running from Crowley. Which makes sense. Crowley would want to hunt down all the Lucifer loyalists now that he's the big man on campus." Sam tells her.

"How would you know?"

Sam shrugs. "It's what I'd do." He looks at Dean. "She can't kill us. She needs us to get her to Crowley so she can stick that knife in his neck."

"Basically, it's him or her." Jamie adds.

Dean looks up at Meg. "Well, I hope you both lose. But good luck."

Meg turns to Sam. "So, you know what you gotta do now, right?"

"Let me guess. You're gonna tell me."

"Work with us."

Jamie and Dean both look at Sam. "Whoa, what?"

Jamie turns to her brother. "Keep up, Dean."

Sam smirks. "We'll hand you Crowley with a bow. On one condition: we come with you and you help us wring a little something out of him before you hack him to bits."

"What?"

"Doesn't matter. Question is, can you get us what we need?"

"I apprenticed under Alistair in Hell just like your brother."

Jamie winces. "God."

"Not exactly." She looks at Jamie and then turns to Dean. "So Dean, can I make Crowley do whatever I want?"

"Yeah, she can." Dean says reluctantly.

"It's a deal then. Hugs and puppies all around!" Meg says excitedly.

Dean doesn't look at her. "You gonna untie us?"

"Please." She whispers seductively. "Don't pretend you don't enjoy it."

She turns to leave. One of her companions walks up to Dean, staring intently at him. "You gonna kiss me?"

Meg calls back over her shoulder to the demon. "Come on!"

Jamie is free and is untying Dean. "What are you doing?" Dean asks. He and Jamie stare at Sam.

"Uh what do you mean?"

Jamie gets Dean free and goes over to Sam. "He's means-"

"I mean, what are you doing!?"

Sam sighs. "Dean, you wanted to screw over Crowley. Merry Christmas. What?"

"You wanna work with a demon again?"

Jamie hands Sam his jacket, and then looks at Dean. "We're working with demons now."

Sam nods. "I'm doing this because I wanna stop."

"She killed Ellen and Jo!"

"I know. But you can't look at this emotionally, Dean. We need her."

"The hell we do! That little bitch is gonna screw us over so fast –"

Sam cuts him off. "Of course."

Jamie puts on Sam's sweatshirt and looks around. "Which is why we'll screw her first." She turns to Dean. "Meg and her little posse are dead the second we're done with them."

"Yeah, if they don't kill us." Dean says, looking between his siblings.

Sam smirks. "They won't." he glances at Jamie. After a moment she nods and grins. "'Cause we're bringing insurance."

"With wings."

Jamie and Sam are standing out in the road by the house. Jamie is wearing Sam's brown jacket. She turns to him. "Raiders plot, alright?"

"You think he'll really fall for it?"

She nods, walking away. Sam starts trying to call Castiel. "Castiel, we need you. It's important." No reaction. "Cas, we found something. It's this gold box. Apparently Nazis were after it back in the day, someone opened it and their face melted off. I think it's – ready for this – the Ark of the Covenant. Yeah. So…"

Castiel appears. "I'm here, Sam. Where is the box?"

Sam turns to him. "I can't believe you fell for that. That was the plot of Raiders, idiot."

Cas looks annoyed. "I'm mid-battle, Sam."

"I could give a rat's ass about your little pissing match with Raphael."

Cas looks up. "Listen to me, Sam –"

"No, you listen! I don't care what you're dealing with up in Heaven. You owe me."

"You may not care, but believe me –"

"I'm sorry, do you think we're here to talk this out?"

"Sam, I can't just –"

"If you don't help us, I will hunt you down and kill you."

Castiel walks up to him looking amused. "Will you, boy? How?"

"I don't know yet. But I will look until I find out, and I don't sleep."

Cas shakes his head. "You need help, Sam."

"I need your help."

Dean walks through the house looking over some papers. Jamie is leaning against the wall. Sam and Castiel enter the house. Jamie smirks. Dean looks surprised. "You actually showed. Wow, Sam, I owe you a chicken dinner. What happened?"

Sam shrugs. "No big. This is what friends do for each other." Castiel looks at Sam, pissed. Dean grins not entirely convinced. Jamie turns away.

Castiel and Jamie are working a ritual to locate Crowley. "Damnit." Jamie cusses. Dean and Sam look at her.

Castiel looks up at them. "It's not working. Crowley's hidden from me."

Dean nods. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way.

Sam, Dean, Jamie, and Castiel are searching Samuel's study in the compound for clues. The siblings shine flashlights as they look around. Samuel walks in on them with a gun in his hand. "Can I help you? What do you want?" He lowers the gun.

"We wanna know where Crowley is." Dean tells him.

"If I even knew, why would I tell you?"

"Cause you're our grandfather." Dean says.

"And we're hoping that means you're not a total dick." Jamie adds.

"Samuel, I'm gonna get my soul back." Sam finishes.

Samuel turns to look at Sam. "Who says you can get it back?"

"Me."

"Look, I'd like to help, but I can't. I'm sorry."

"Bull!" Jamie yells.

"It's your grandson's soul." Dean says firmly.

"I can't."

Dean stares at him. "What is wrong with you? Do you wanna work for Crowley? Cas, can you give us a minute?" The angel disappears. "We're your blood. But if you don't wanna help us I can't make you. But I just gotta know why. What is Crowley holding over you? You owe us that."

Jamie frowns. She grabs unto Dean's arm. She's pale and leans heavily against Dean. He and Sam look concerned. Sam walks over and grabs ahold of her. Samuel takes out a picture of young Mary and hands it to Dean.

"Mom?" Dean asks.

"Mom." Jamie mutters. Sam holds her up as Dean turns to Samuel.

"He's gonna give her back to me."

Dean looks up. "Crowley's gonna bring mom back from the dead?"

"That's why he can't look at me." Dean turns back to his sister. "I look just like her in that photo." She puts her hand on her stomach. Sam puts his hand over hers.

"You tell me you don't want her back."

Dean looks back at the photograph, doesn't answer.

"You know, the one difference between us: you know how to live without her."

Dean looks up. "Look, I know how you feel."

"No, you don't. She's my daughter, and she's dead, and I can do something about it."

"Do you really think Crowley is gonna make good here?"

"He brought Sam back! And me!"

Jamie straights up, holds Sam's shoulder for support. "You have no idea what you're doing."

Dean nods. "Trust me, don't go down that road."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, stop trying. It's gonna go nowhere good. Samuel, I know we've had our differences, but I'm your grandson and I'm telling you that this is wrong for so many reasons."

"You hypocrite!" Samuel yells at him.

"I'm asking you to learn from our mistakes! Doing this, this is how the bad guy gets us every time. It's our Achille's heel. Apparently it runs in the family. We will figure something else out. Okay?"

"I'm sorry Dean, but I –"

"Fine. Bring her back. But what are you gonna tell her? You gonna tell her you made a deal with a demon?" he gestures to himself and then to Sam and Jamie. "That you wouldn't help out her sons or her daughter?"

"That's enough! Just get out."

Dean goes over and loops Jamie's arm across his shoulders. He helps her out. Sam lingers back, looking at Samuel as he leaves.

The Winchesters are back in the abandoned house. Jamie is asleep on the couch. Castiel is sitting next to her watching TV, while Sam and Dean sit at a table, doing research. "It's very complex."

"Mm-hmm." Dean doesn't look up.

"If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear? Perhaps she's done something wrong."

Dean and Sam look at each other, startled. "You're watching porn? Why?" Dean asks.

"It was there."

Jamie wakes up and looks at Cas. She groans and closes her eyes again. "Dean!"

"Hey! It's not me, it's Cas." Dean looks at the angel. "You don't watch porn in a room full of dudes and my sister. And you don't talk about it. Just turn it off." He turns to Sam when Cas looks down at his lap. "Great, now he's got a boner."

There's a knock on the door. Sam and Dean take out their guns. Castiel turns to Jamie and puts his hand on her leg. Dean goes to open it, finding Samuel. "This what you boys do, sit around watching pornos with angels?"

"We're not supposed to talk about it."

"Samuel?" Jamie tries to sit up. Cas turns to her and helps her. Sam turns the tv off.

"Why are you here, Samuel?" Dean asks.

"It's what Mary would want. Now, this is what I know. Whatever we bag ends up there." He shows them a map with a location marked. "That's where he tortures 'em, interrogates 'em, I don't really know. Only been outside the places, but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in and nothing gets out, period."

"Well, thanks."

"I wish you wouldn't do this."

"Come with us." Sam offers.

"I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal."

Jamie scoffs. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Meg and her posse are waiting outside the house after Samuel leaves. Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Cas walk out to them. Meg looks at Castiel. "Remember me? I sure remember you, Clarence."

Cas doesn't look at her. "Why are we working with these abominations?"

Jamie glances at him. "Because we don't have any other choice."

"Keep talking dirty. Makes my meatsuit all dewy."

Dean glances at Cas. "Alright, simmer down. We know where Crowley is."

" Great. Do tell."

Sam looks at Meg and scoffs. "Yeah, tell you, so you can just leave us for dead."

Meg glances at Sam. "You boys have serious abandonment issues, you know that?"

Jamie takes a step forward. "Say that again, Meg." Dean pushes her back a step. He and Sam stand in front of her.

"We'll show you, alright? But we're all going together." Sam says firmly.

"What, I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"No, you're not that stupid. Give me the knife for a minute."

"No, I'm not that stupid."

"Do you want us to take you to Crowley or not?" She hands Sam Ruby's knife. Sam hands it to Jamie. She uses it to kill the demon that was scowling at Dean earlier. The two other demons step forward but Sam blocks them from his sister. "You saw him. He was more interested in killing us than getting the job done. Jamie just did all of us a favour."

"Hey! You just gonna keep that?" Meg gestures to the knife.

Jamie puts it in her belt. "You took this from us. I'm taking it back." She turns and goes towards the house. "We leave in one hour." Meg sighs and turns away with her demons. She stops and gives Castiel a second look. Dean's lip twitches.

Inside Dean is packing up for the hunt. Castiel is standing there looking out the window. "You know, Cas, you could help."

"I'm ambivalent about what we're attempting."

Dean continues to pack. "Well, breaking into monster Gitmo is not exactly a two-for-one in the champagne room."

"I'm not sure retrieving Sam's soul is wise."

Dean walks around the table and goes towards Cas. "Wait, what? Why?"

Jamie walks in and stands beside Dean. She crosses her arms.

"I want him to survive."

"What are you talking about?"

Jamie glances over her shoulder at her brother. "Sam's soul has been locked in the cage with Michael and Lucifer for more than a year. And they have nothing to do but take their frustrations out on him."

Castiel turns to them. "Do you understand? If we try to force that mutilated thing down Sam's gullet, we have no idea what will happen. It could be catastrophic."

"You mean he dies."

Jamie shakes her head. "Worse. He doesn't." She sighs and looks down.

"Paralysis. Insanity. Psychic pain so profound that he's locked inside himself for the rest of his life."

"But you're saying you don't know anything for sure. I mean, he could be fine."

"He could be, yes."

"Okay then." Dean starts to turn away.

"But I sincerely doubt it."

Jamie looks up. "Cas…"

"Well, if he's not fine, then you fix him."

"Dean, I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Then you figure it out, Cas. Come on. I mean, the guy's a frigging replicant. He needs his soul. Look, we get it back. And if there are complications, then we will figure out a way to deal with those, too."

"Of course." Dean turns away, thinking he's won the argument. "Or we fail, and Sam suffers horrifically."

Jamie looks at the angel. "Shut it, Cas." She says, staring at him. Sam is standing in the shadows, overhearing the conversation. Jamie glances back in his direction.

They are all standing outside Crowley's monster prison. Dean turns to the group. "Seems pretty quiet."

Jamie is staring at the building. "It's not, I can feel it."

Castiel looks at Dean. "Meet me at the side door."

Castiel opens a door to let Dean, Jamie, Sam and the demons inside the prison. "This all seem a little too easy for you?" Dean turns to his siblings.

Sam nods. "Way too easy."

Jamie shakes her head. "Something is so wrong here."

They walk inside. Castiel hangs back and lightening flashes.

They walk down a hallway lined with cells. Sam and Dean shine flashlights on them. Some of the monsters are dead but others are alive. Dean shines his flashlight into one cell."Is someone there? Please. Please help me. You gotta get me out of here. Please! You gotta get me out of here." A female djinn begs. Dean hesitates. Jamie gasps and grabs her stomach. Sam pushes her ahead of him and then looks at his brother.

"Come on, Dean. We gotta move."

They enter another hallway and Dean and Sam turn off their flashlights. Cas stops. "Wait."

"What is it?" Dean asks.

Dogs are heard barking in the distance. "Oh my God!" Jamie yells, whirling around.

"Damn it. Here come the guards." Meg mutters.

Dean's eyes widen. "Hellhounds. Go!"

They run for the nearest set of doors, Dean and Sam wedge them shut with a piece of wood. Jamie grabs the salt and tosses it to Dean who draws a salt line. The two demons who were accompanying Meg haven't made it and are ripped apart by the hellhounds on the other side. "Why does this feel familiar?" Jamie asks as Dean and Sam shove her behind him.

"I knew this was a trap."

"What do you want, a cupcake?" Meg asks, looking at Dean.

"Alright, that should keep them out." Sam says.

Dean shakes his head. "Not for long. How many of them are there?" He looks back at Jamie.

"I can't count them all."

"Lots. I'll be pulling for you … from Cleveland." Meg straightens up.

"What?!" Dean demands.

"I didn't know this was gonna happen. Bright side: them chewing up my meatsuit ought to buy you a few seconds. Seacrest out." She puts her head back and opens her mouth.

Jamie crosses her arms and gives Meg a look. "I wouldn't." Meg tries to vacate her host body, but can't. "Told you."

Castiel looks at them. "A spell, I think, from Crowley. Within these walls you're locked inside your body."

Dean smirks. "Karma's a bitch, bitch." Jamie takes out Ruby's knife. "Oh no. No way." Dean takes the knife from her.

"What are you doing, gonna slash at thin air until you hit something? I'm the one who can see those sons of bitches." Jamie tells him.

"You're not getting anywhere near them." Dean tells her.

Sam takes the knife from Dean. "You can see them too. Take this. Hold them off. It's our best shot." He tells Meg.

"At Crowley. Take it and go. You kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

"How you gonna do that?" Dean asks.

Jamie looks up. "Cas." She grabs Castiel by the neck and kisses him, at the same time removing his sword. Castiel pushes her up against the wall and returns the kiss with interest. He runs his hands through her hair and touches her stomach. She wraps her arms around his neck. Behind them Dean points to them and then at the door and then gives up. Jamie breaks the kiss and she and Cas smile at each other.

"What was that?" Meg asks.

"I learned that from the Pizza Man." Castiel says.

"Meg." Jamie hands Meg the sword.

Dean looks at the sword. "Whoa, whoa, is that gonna work on a hellhound?"

"Well, we're about to find out. Run." The boys grab unto Jamie and take off. Meg faces the shaking doors and prepares to fight the hounds.

They hit an unlit stairwell. "Can't see jack." Dean complains as he and Sam shine their flashlights around.

Jamie: Castiel!

Jamie tries to push through Dean and Sam. Castiel turns to her. Suddenly, there is a blinding light and Castiel vanishes. Turns out it was Samuel, banishing him with a blood sigil.

"Cas?!" Dean yells.

Sam sees Samuel. "Dean."

"You son of a bitch!" Sam and Dean shove Jamie behind them and hold her back.

"You sold us out?" Three demons appear behind Jamie, Sam and Dean, holding onto them. "Damn you, Samuel." Dean tells him.

"Yes. And I have to say, best purchase I've made since Dick Cheney."

"Crowley." Jamie hisses.

"Hiya, Crowley. How's tricks?" Dean asks.

"Above your pay grade. Been working. Big things. Alas, you'll be too dead to participate."

"Really?"

"Shame I have to do away with you three. Rather enjoyed your indentured servitude." Crowley turns away.

Sam and Dean are thrown into separate cells. A third cell is about to be unlocked for Jamie, but apparently there's already a monster there, so Jamie is thrown into Dean's cell. Dean catches her and holds her behind him as the cell is locked. "Sam?!" Dean calls.

"Yeah." He answers.

Dean looks down and then looks up. "I'm standing in pee." A doubles over and vomits. "And Jamie just puked." He pauses. "On my shoes."

Sam looks down at where he's standing. "Consider yourself lucky."

Dean makes a face. "Yikes. That sucks."

"So Jamie is with you?"

"Yeah, I'm here." She calls to her twin.

A little window in the door to Dean and Jamie's cell is opened from the outside by Samuel. "You want forgiveness, find a priest." Dean spits.

"I just want you to understand."

"Oh, I understand." Dean walks forward. "That you're a liar. You talk about putting blood first, which is funny 'cause you sound just like my dad. The difference is, he actually did."

"I am putting blood first."

Dean shakes his head. "Oh, gimme a break!"

"Mary's my blood! My daughter! Don't come at me like I sold you out, Dean. You sold out your own mother. It was her or Sam and Jamie, and you chose Sam and Jamie, plain and simple."

"Oh, that is such crap!" Dean replies, angry.

Jamie walks forward, her eyes blazing. "Samuel, Mary may have been your daughter, but I am hers." Samuel looks away. "Look at me you stupid son of a bitch! You can't, can you. Because I look just like her."

Dean grabs his sister and pushes her behind him. "You wanna know what really happened? You chose a demon over your own grandchildren!"

"See it how you want. I don't even know what Sam is. And you want me to protect him? And Jamie?" Dean looks over his shoulder. "What is Jamie, anyway? An angel's bitch. And you? You're a stranger." Dean scoffs. "No, really, tell me: what exactly are you supposed to be to me?"

Samuel purposefully doesn't look at Jamie. Dean sees this. "You can't look at her, can you? She's right, she reminds you way too much of Mom. Well, I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy you never wanna see again. 'Cause I'll make it out of here, trust me. And the next time you see me, I'll be there to kill you."

"Don't think there's gonna be a next time."

"Whatever gets you through the night."

Samuel shuts the window. Dean turns to Jamie and wraps his arms around her. She hugs him. "I can get us out." She whispers.

"I know. But don't. Don't expose your powers; don't expose the baby until you have to. Not even to save me, understand?" He looks down at her, and puts his hand on her stomach. "He is our first priority." Jamie nods.

The two demons working for Crowley open the door and walk inside. Dean pushes Jamie back. "Stay back, Jamie!" He tells her as they grab him and drag him out of his cell.

"Dean! Dean!" Jamie yells. The door is slammed shut.

"Get off me!" They drag him down the corridor while Samuel just stands by. Sam hears this.

Sam is pacing in his cell. Suddenly he hears Jamie's voice in his head. "_Sammy._"

"_Jamie?_" he grins. "_Our twin thing?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_I thought the baby_…"

"_I think he's asleep…You have a plan?"_

"_Yeah_."

Jamie pauses. "_Good plan_."

Sam then squats down and bites into his arm at the wrist, drawing blood. "_Dean alright_?"

"_Just a second_."

Dean is pushed into a room with blood and guts all over it. Then the demons bring in two ghouls.

"Enjoy."

Dean looks at them. "Alright, alright. Shawshank's a great flick, but let's skip the shower scene, huh?"

One of the ghouls looks at the other. "Look, breakfast."

Jamie opens her eyes. "Oh that sucks." She closes her eyes again. "_We need to get to Dean."_

Demons enter Sam's cell. Sam is crouching by the wall furthest from the door. "What did you do with my brother and sister?"

"Oh, you'll find out. You're about to join your brother." They get caught in a devil's trap Sam has painted on the ceiling using his own blood. He rushes out of the cell and over to where Jamie is.

"Step back." Sam steps back. Jamie holds her hands out and the door opens. Jamie walks out and blows the door shut.

"I guess we should have let you fight the hellhounds." Sam says, impressed.

Jamie cracks her neck. "What and leave Meg with nothing to do?"

Elsewhere, Dean is fighting the ghouls. "Frickin' hate ghouls!"

At the same time, Sam and Jamie are running down a hallway, looking for him. "Dean?!"

"Let me go, son of a bitch!"

"Dean! Sam, over here." Sam and Jamie arrive just in time to save Dean from getting eaten. Sam stakes one of the ghouls with a metal bar ripped off the wall. Jamie waves her hand and the metal bar is ripped out of the ghoul and flies into the other one.

Meg is tied naked to a table. Christian is stabbing her with Ruby's knife. She screams. "You know, you're sticking that thing in all the wrong places."

"Really? You sure were squealing."

"Knock yourself out. It's a host body. Some girl from Cheboygan, moved to LA to be an actress. It's probably not even the worst thing that ever happened to her."

Meg screams as the demon continues torturing her with Ruby's knife, then suddenly starts laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

Dean appears behind him, grabs the knife out of his hand and stabs him in the back.

"Dean Winchester's behind you, meatsack."

Sam and Jamie rush in. "We should go." Sam says.

Dean glances at them and then at Meg. Jamie flicks her wrist and Meg's clothes drop on top of her. "Hurry up, Dean." She says.

Dean unties Meg.

Crowley goes to pay the female djinn a visit in her cell. "Hello, sweetheart. Feeling chatty this morning, are we? Do hope so. Wouldn't want to harm a hair on that pretty little head. So, you ready to tell me all about your daddy?" Fire alarm rings. "Hold that thought."

Crowley arrives at the room where Meg was being tortured and finds Dean sounding the alarm.

"You should be ghoul scat by now." Sam knocks him down from behind. "Really necessary? I just had this dry-cleaned." He finds himself inside another devil's trap. "So, to what do I owe the reach-around?" Jamie enters, brandishing Ruby's knife. "Jamie. Hello." She has the sweatshirt unzipped. Crowley notices. "Oooh, I didn't notice it before but now it's plain as day, you're expecting a little one. Whose his daddy?"

Jamie rolls her eyes and smirks. "Dean." Sam looks over at Dean. Dean doesn't react.

Meg enters. "Crowley."

His face falls. "Whore."

"Okay, you know what." She uses her demonic powers to injure Crowley internally, making him cough up blood. "The best torturers never get their hands dirty. Sam wants a word with you."

Crowley painfully turns to Sam. "What can I do for you, Sam?"

"You know damn well. I want my soul back."

Meg turns to him. "And here I thought you just grew some balls, Sam."

Jamie glances over her shoulder. "Shut up, Meg."

"Well?" Sam demands.

"No."

"Meg?"

Meg tortures Crowley some more. He falls to his hands and knees.

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?" Sam asks.

"I said 'can't'. I meant 'can't', you mop-headed lumberjack. I was lucky to get this much of you out. Going back in there for the sloppy bits? No way. I'm good, but those two in there? Forget it."

Sam looks at him. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But it doesn't change anything. I'm telling you. Sam, why do you want the thing back? Satan's got one juicy source of entertainment in there. I'd swallow a rag off a bathhouse floor before I took that soul. Unless you want to be a drooling mess."

Meg glances over her shoulder. "Sam, I hate to say it, but he's right."

"Yeah, right. I get it. Thanks. He's all yours."

Dean moves to stop him. "Whoa, what are you, crazy? He's our only hope."

"Dean, you heard him. He can't get it. He's useless."

Dean looks at his sister and gestures for the knife. Jamie tilts her head and hands it to Dean. She goes to enter the devil's trap.

"You'll let me back out, right?" They nod. Meg turns to Crowley. "This is for Lucifer, you pompous little –"

Crowley takes her down in an instant and uses the knife to break the devil's trap. He Sam and Dean to opposite walls. Jamie holds her hands out in front of her deflecting Crowley's hold. Crowley smirks. "Jamie, do you really think I'm stupid enough to lay a hand on you."

"I think you're stupid enough to try."

"Maybe so." He gestures for the knife and holds it against Meg. Jamie steps back, holding one hand out in front of her, and the other on her stomach.

Castiel reappears suddenly. "Leave them alone."

Crowley looks at the angel. "Castiel, haven't seen you all season. You the cavalry now?" Jamie steps forward to Castiel's side, and raises her hand. The knife flies out of Crowley's hand and into hers. Crowley looks darkly at her and then towards Castiel. "Hear you're losing out to Raphael. The whole affair makes Vietnam look like a roller derby. Hey, what's in the gift bag?"

Castiel takes the skull out of the bag he's holding. "You are."

"Not possible." His smile disappears.

"You didn't hide your bones as well as you should have."

He claps mockingly. "Cookie for you."

Jamie takes a step forward, holding the knife. "Let my brothers go." Crowley snaps his fingers and Sam and Dean are free. "Can you restore Sam's soul or not?"

"If I could help out in any other –"

"Answer her!" Dean demands.

"I can't." Jamie looks at Cas. He incinerates Crowley's bones. Crowley burns up and turns to ash.

Dean and Sam walk forward. Jamie stares at Meg. She looks at Jamie, and then Dean and Sam before vanishing into thin air. "Well, she's smart, I'll give her that. I was gonna kill her, too." Dean says, putting an arm around his sister.

Jamie nods. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Sam, Dean, Jamie, and Castiel are standing by the Impala, about to take off. "Thanks, Cas. Hadn't it been for you –" Dean starts to say.

Castiel looks at him. "Crowley was right. It's not going well for me upstairs."

"If there's anything we can do –"

"There isn't. I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time I'd rather be here."

"Look, Cas, we know you got a steaming pile on your plate. There's no need for apologies. We're your friends."

Castiel looks to Sam. "Listen, Sam, we'll find another way."

Sam turns to him. "You really wanna help? Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave 'em, can't let 'em go."

Jamie cringes. Castiel turns to look at her. "I understand." He disappears with a flutter of wings. Jamie watches him go.

"He's right, you know?" Dean turns to Sam.

"About?"

"About your soul. We'll figure something else out."

"No, we won't."

Jamie looks at her twin. "Sam…"

"Why, because Crowley said –"

"You heard what Crowley said. And I heard what Cas said. Putting this thing back in would smash me to bits."

"We don't know that for sure."

"You know what? When angels and demons agree on something, call me nuts, I pay attention."

Jamie sighs. "Sam, that doesn't necessarily mean it's true."

Dean is starting to get angry. "You say this now? After we practically died trying to – "

Sam cuts him off. "Exactly! We almost got ourselves killed. I mean, how many times do we risk our asses for this? Enough's enough."

Jamie rubs her eyes. "Sam."

He looks at her. "I don't think I want it back."

"You don't even know what you're saying." Dean tells him.

"No, I'm saying something you two don't like. You obviously care, a lot. But I think maybe I'm better off without it."

Jamie walks around the Impala toward him. "You're wrong."

"You don't know how wrong you are." Dean finishes.

"I'm not sure about that." He turns and starts to walk away.

"Sam, don't walk away. Sam! Sam!" Dean yells. Jamie stares after him. Dean turns and looks at her. She frowns.


	38. 615 The French Mistake

It's storming heavily outside Bobby's. Dean is sitting at the table with the laptop open. He pours the last drops of liquor into a glass. Sam walks in carrying a stack of books. He turns to Dean. "Where's Bobby?"

Dean looks disgusted at the empty bottle and then looks up at Sam. "In town, supply run."

Sam gestures to the window. "In this?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, man's a hero. We were officially out of hunter's helper." Dean gestures at his empty liquor bottle

"What a travesty." Jamie walks in. She has a defined baby bump under her t-shirt.

"Isn't that my shirt?" Dean asks. Jamie looks down and then looks up at Dean. He grins.

"Probably. I needed dry clothes and most of my clothes don't fit anymore, so." She shrugs.

"Jamie. Hey." Sam says, walking over to her.

Jamie looks at Dean. "Does he have his soul back?" She points at Sam.

Dean nods. "Yes."

"Oh good." Jamie whirls around and punches Sam in the face. "That's for letting Dean get turned." She punches him in the face with her other hand. "And that's for trying to kill Bobby."

"Ow." Sam holds his face in his hands.

"Well now that's settled." Dean mutters.

Sam wipes blood from his nose. "When did you get here?"

Jamie looks up and then glances around for a clock. "Not too long ago."

Dean leans back in his chair. "How long did you drive?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Dean, I live here, remember? Bobby doesn't send me on hunts further than 3 hours away."

Lightening flashes. Jamie turns around to find Balthazar standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Hello, boys. Jamie." He walks across the room. "You've seen "the Godfather," right?"

"Balthazar..." Dean gets out of his chair.

"What are you doing here?" Jamie asks.

"You know, the end, where Michael Corleone sends his men to kill his enemies in one big, bloody swoop?" Balthazar finds a container of salt and pours it into a bowl on Bobby's desk.

"Hey!"

Balthazar looks down at the bottle in his hands. "Dead sea brine." good, good, good. You know, Moe Greene gets it in the eye, and Don Cuneo gets it in the revolving door?"

"I said "hey."

Balthzar looks at him. "You did. Twice. Good for you." He pats Dean's shoulder. "Blood of lamb. Blood of lamb."

Jamie points. "Fridge." Dean and Sam look at her. She waves them down.

Balthazar disappears and reappears looking through Bobby's fridge contents. "Beer, cold pizza. Blood of lamb. Yes! Blood of lamb!'

Jamie turns to him. "Salt, blood of lamb…"

"Why are you talking about "the Godfather"? Sam asks.

The angel disappears and reappears beside them. "Because we're in it - right now, tonight. And in the role of Michael Corleone - The archangel Raphael." He pours the blood into the bowl.

Jamie, Dean, and Sam look at each other. "You mind telling us what you mean?" Dean demands.

"No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no." He empties the contents of Bobby's desk drawer. "Yes. Bone of a lesser saint. This vertebra will do very nicely. Your Mr. Singer does keep a beautiful pantry."

Jamie looks confused. "Why are you mixing a protection ritual?"

Balthazar looks at her as he crushes the bone into the bowl. "This is much more than a protection ritual, my dear hopefully mother to be."

"Wait, Raphael is after you?" Dean asks.

"Raphael is after us all. You see, he's consolidated his strength. And now he's on the move."

Jamie turns to the window. "The storm."

"What?" Dean asks.

Jamie glances over her shoulder. "Raphael is lord of air. The storm is his doing, so he and his minions can move freely."

Balthazar grins. "Very good Jamie."

"Thanks."

"Okay, where's Cas?" Sam asks.

Balthazar walks over to the window, mixing the contents of the bowl. "Oh, Cassie? He is deep, deep underground. So, good old Raffy put out a hit list on every last samaritan who helped our dear Cas - Including the three of you. And so much more importantly, me." He coughs. "See, he wants to draw Cas out in the open." He starts painting a symbol on the window.

Sam looks at him. "And you expect us to just believe you?"

"Oh, don't. You'll go where I throw you either way."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks.

Jamie turns to her brothers. "You don't want to know. Balthazar you're not gonna…" Lightning flashes and the electricity crackles. Jamie looks up. "Raphael."

"Fraid so, love. That's all the time we have." Balthazar opens his jacket revealing a bloodstain on his side. "Where is it?" The siblings see the blood.

"Balthazar." Jamie takes a step towards him.

"Whoa. What happened there?"

"Oh. Garish, I know. You see, uncle Raffy sent one of his nastiest to handle me. I'm flattered, actually. And down a lung at the moment, but that's all right." He hands Sam keys. "Oh, here's for you."

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Run with it." Balthazar is thrown across the room as an angel, Virgil appears.

Jamie recognizes him. "Virgil. Guys, come on!" She pushes Dean and Sam towards the window.

"I said, run!" Balthazar holds up his hand and sends them through the window which is marked with a blood sigil.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean crash through Bobby's window and land on a mattress on a tv show set. Several people are standing around them. They get to their feet startled.

"Cut!" Bob Singer, the director says.

"Real good solid fall. Way to go." Someone else says, slapping Dean on the ass. Dean looks disturbed.

"Jared, Jensen, Eliza! Outstanding! That was just great."

"Supernatural,"scene one echo, take one. Tail slate. Marker!"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie look through the window they thought they had just crashed through. Sam turns to his brother and sister. "So...No angels?"

"No angels, I think." Dean replies.

Jamie nods. "Definitely no angels."

"Should we be killing anybody?"

Dean looks around. "I don't think so."

Jamie freezes. She realizes something. "Guys…no psychic powers." Her eyes widen.

Dean and Sam look at her, identical looks on their faces. "No psychic powers?" Dean asks.

Jamie shakes her head vigoriously. "Look." She gestures to the broken glass. Nothing happens. "I don't hear anything either. I...I got nothing."

"Uh…Running?" Sam asks.

"Where?" Dean asks.

Jamie is holding her head. "Ugh. I hate being normal." She drops her hands to her stomach. Sam picks up a piece of the 'window' which wobbles back and forth, clearly made of some kind of gel. "Guys." Jamie's eyes widen again. "I don't…I don't feel right."

Sam and Dean look at each other and then Dean grabs at her shirt and pulls it up. They stare at her stomach. She's wearing a prostatic. "You're not pregnant." Sam says bluntly.

"Bastards!" Dean says.

Jamie holds her 'fake' stomach. "Oh my god."

"Moving on! That's a wrap on Jared, Jensen, and Eliza!" They hear someone knew say.

Sam looks around and then looks at his siblings. "W-who the hell are –"

Jamie stares at him. "I…I think…"

"Jared! Three minutes, okay? Great." A woman takes Sam by the hand and leads him away.

"Where are we going?" Dean calls, following them.

The makeup artist goes over to Dean. "Jensen, there you are! Let's just get you in the chair."

"Chair"? She leads Dean over to a chair and mirror. The mirror is covered with pictures of Sam and Dean.

"Okay, hon, we're just gonna get this makeup off your face."

He grabs her hands. "Wha-I'm not wearing any ma—"Dean looks at the cloth the makeup artist has just wiped over his face to find it covered in foundation. He looks in the mirror and puts a hand on his face. "Oh, crap! I'm a painted whore!"

Jamie stares in Dean's direction. A fashion designer walks up to her. "Eliza. Hey. You can take this smelly thing off now." He takes the prosthetic belly off Jamie. She stares at her flat stomach. "There ya go, hon. I've got your clothes waiting in the trailer if you want to change."

"Trish Evian here with Jared Padalecki from tv's "Supernatural." So, Jared, season six." Sam is looking over his shoulder into the set of the panic room and turns back in confusion.

"What?"

"You beat the devil, lost your soul, and got it back again. So tell us, what's next for Sam Winchester?"

"Look, I-I-I really don't –"

"Oh, and if you could include the question in your answer? Thanks."

Sam laughs nervously.

Dean walks around someone handing out candy. Jamie walks over to him, now wearing a tank top and her leather jacket. They look at each other for a few moments and then go to where Sam is. "Hey."

"Dude, they put freakin' makeup on us! Those bastards!"

Jamie frowns. "I want to know what happened to my baby."

Sam sighs and looks at them. "Look, I think I know what this is."

"Okay. What?" Dean asks.

"It's a tv show."

"Yeah, you think." Jamie says.

"Yeah. I mean, here -wherever "here" is, this - this twilight zone Balthazar zapped us into. For whatever reason, our life is a tv show."

Dean looks confused. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"No, seriously. Why? Why would anybody want to watch our lives?"

Jamie shrugs. "Sick entertainment?"

"Well, I mean, according to that interviewer, not very many people do. Look, I'm not saying it makes sense. I'm just saying, we - we landed in some dimension where you're Jensen Ackles, Jamie is Eliza Dushku, and I'm something called a "Jared Padalecki."

They start walking off the set. "So what, now you're polish?" Dean turns to Jamie. "Is any of this making any sense to you?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I'm normal."

"And not pregnant." Sam adds.

"Thanks for that." She says to her twin. They exit the studio and see the Impala.

"Oh, hey. Least my baby made it."

"Lucky you."

Sam puts his arm around his sister. "We'll figure out what happened to your baby, Jamie. I promise. Speaking of, maybe now would be the time to tell us who-"

Jamie looks up at him. "Like I told Crowley, Dean is his father."

Sam looks at Dean. "And you're okay with her saying this?"

Dean shrugs. "Obviously his real father's out of the picture, I don't mind being second string. Someone has to be." A crewmember starts flinging mud onto the windshield of the Impala. "Hey. Hey! What – "Dean sees 5 more Impalas, including one that's trashed. He turns pale and grabs his stomach. "I feel sick. I'm gonna be sick." They walk off in another direction. "I want to go home. I feel like this whole place is bad-touching me."

"Yeah, I know. Me too." Sam agrees.

"Me three. So, time to pray to Cas?"

Dean sighs. "He's our best shot, if he's still alive." Dean holds his hands out and closes his eyes. "Dear Castiel, who art maybe running his ass away from heaven, we pray that you have your ears on. So... Breaker breaker..."

Jamie looks up. "Castiel in the name of heaven…" They spot Castiel a short distance away.

"Cas? Cas! Hey, Cas! Oh, thank god." They all walk up to him. "What is all this, huh? W-w-what did Balthazar do to us?"

Castiel stares at them. "To keep you out of Virgil's reach, he's cast you into an alternate reality, a universe similar to ours in most respects yet dramatically different in others."

Jamie turns away. "Oh this is so screwed up."

Dean looks at her and then at Cas. "Like - like bizarro earth, right? Except instead of having Bizarro superman, we get this clown factory."

"Um...Yeah, well...Anyway, no time to explain. Do you have the key?"

"Yeah." Sam hands him the key. "So, uh, what does this thing do, anyway?"

"It opens a room."

"What's in the room?" Dean asks.

"Every weapon Balthazar stole from heaven."

Jamie turns back to them. "Really? Wait…I should have known that. I didn't know that!"

Sam looks at her. "Calm down."

Dean turns back to Cas. "He gave it to us?"

"To keep it safe until I could reach you. With those weapons, I have a chance to rally my forces."

Sam sighs and nods. "Oh. Okay, good. Yeah. So, now, uh, what's the deal with all this tv crap?"

"Pardon?"

Jamie puts her hand on Cas's chest. "You gotta do something Cas because I don't have any of my powers, and I'm not pregnant." She gestures to her stomach. "We gotta find out what turned off my psychic thing, and what happened to my baby and fast."

Sam nods. "Yeah, because if it was Raphael and she can't see him coming, we're screwed. We're sitting ducks."

"Yeah. Amen, Padaleski." Dean adds.

"Uh, "lecki."

"What?"

"Lecki. Pretty sure."

Jamie shrugs. "At least you're polish. I'm Albanian."

"Man." Cas pulls out his script, revealing he isn't their Cas, he's Misha. "Did they put out new pages?"

"New what?" Dean asks.

Sam is going on about the reality. "I mean, is this some kind of cosmic joke?"

"Yeah, 'cause if it is, it's stupid, and we don't get it." Dean says.

"Yeah."

Jamie is staring at the script in Misha's hands. "Oh God. Not you too."

"What?" Dean asks.

"Are you guys okay?"

Dean grabs the script from Misha. "Give me that. What is - these are words in a script."

Jamie steps back. "This isn't Cas. Or least not…our Cas." She looks at Dean and Sam.

"Dude, look at him." Sam says.

Misha unbuttons his shirt to reveal a patterned new age t-shirt underneath. "You guys want to run lines, or...?"

Dean is still staring at the script. "His name's Misha. Misha?"

Jamie runs her hand over her face. "God."

"Oh, wow. Just...Great."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam start walking away. "Misha? Jensen? Eliza? What's up with the names around here?"

"You guys! You really punked me!" Dean and Jamie glance back at Misha who throws the script at Dean. "I'm totally gonna tweet this one." He pulls out his phone and starts typing. "Hola, mishamigos. "J-squared an El... Got me good."

Jamie turns around. "J-squared? El?" She turns back to her brothers.

"I just want to dig my finger in my brain and scratch until we're back in Kansas." Dean says.

"Really...Starting to feel... Like one of the guys."

(Dean Jamie and Sam walk by a giant trailer)

"Hey. "J. Ackles." Sam says, pointing.

"That's fake me!"

"Yeah."

Jamie turns to him. "Ya think?"

"This must be fake mine." They enter the trailer. Dean sees a toy helicopter. "Dude, I have a helicopter!"

Sam is staring at the fishtank behind them. "Oh. All right, who puts a 300-gallon aquarium in their trailer?"

"Apparently, Jensen Ackles."

Jamie looks around. "This is the part where I'm supposed to get a headache or a bad feeling."

"Huh." Sam spots a laptop. "All right, here we go. Let's see who this guy is." He types Jensen Ackles into the search engine and Supernatural promo photos pop up. Jamie looks over Sam's shoulder and her jaw drops.

Dean turns to them. "Well, he's not a hunter, but he plays one on tv." He gestures to the large tv at the back of the trailer that's playing the season 4 gag reel. "Oh." He picks up a magazine with Jared and Jensen on the cover. "Come on. Look at these male-modelin' sons of bitches. Nice "blue steel,"Sam."

"Where's my cover?" Jamie asks.

Dean shrugs. "Guess you're not important enough."

"Thanks Dean."

Sam gets their attention. "Hey. Apparently, it's our job. All right, uh, here goes. Um...It says you're from Texas."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And, uh...Oh. Says you were on a soap opera."

"What?"

They watch a clip of Jensen on Days of our Lives. "If I didn't have cancer, and I wasn't married, and I had plenty of money... Would you - would you want to run away with me?"

"Money? What, you think I really care about money, Nicole? I care that you're healthy."

"Well, I'm no quitter, Eric.I-I –"

Dean slams the laptop shut. "Don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this universe."

Jamie looks at them. "I'm gonna be sick." She pause. "Only not really. God, I hate this."

Sam looks at her and then Dean. "Yeah. No argument here. But I don't think our - our prayers are reaching Cas."

"The real Cas." Jamie corrects.

"Well, I agree. I think we are definitely out of, uh, soul-phone range. But..."

"What?"

Dean looks at them. "If we can reverse Balthazar's spell... I watched every move." He sketches out the sigil. "We just, uh, get the ingredients, right, get back to that same window, and...There's no place like home."

Jamie nods. "Might actually work. I hope."

The siblings are back on the Supernatural set. "Backbone of a lesser saint." Sam pulls the bone out of Bobby's drawer. "Got it. Uh.." He pokes at the bone and realizes it is fake. "It's rubber."

"You're kidding." Jamie grabs Sam's hand. "Dude!" Sam drops it on the desk. Jamie shakes her head.

"Check this out." Dean holds up a prop dagger and bends the blade back and forwards. "Hey, look. It's fake." He jabs the fake dagger at Sam's chest. "It's all fake!" He jabs it into his own chest and into his arm.

Jamie sits down. "God this sucks! I'm gonna cry. I'm just gonna cry." She puts her head in her hands.

Dean and Sam look at her. "Well at least you're still acting pregnant." Dean says. Jamie looks up glares at them.

They're off the set. Sam looks at his brother and sister. "Course everything is fake. We're on a film set."They approach one of the Impalas. "We got to get back to the real world."

Jamie nods. "Find the actual backbone of a lesser saint, and real lamb's blood, real rock salt."

"Yeah, now you're talking." They get in the Impala and Dean start driving. "All right, we go round up the genuine articles, bring 'em here for the spell." The engine on the Impala sputters. "What the hell is going on? What is wrong with this thing?" Dean asks, looking down.

There's a crewmember running alongside Impala, knocking on the window. "Mr. Ackles! Mr. Ackles, please!"

Sam rolls his eyes and sighs. "Uh, Dean?"

"God, Mr. Ackles, please!"

"Dean, it's not the Impala." Sam says grimly.

Jamie puts her head back and groans. "Of course not."

"Please! Stop."

Dean sighs. "You think?"

"Please!"

"It's a frigging prop! Just like everything else." Dean says, resigned.

Jamie rubs her eyes. "Yeah, not gonna get us very far. "

Dean stops and they exit the Impala.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for..."

Jamie whirls around. "Hey! Shut up."

"How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?" Dean asks.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are in a car with Clif. "You know whereabouts you want me to drop you off? Jensen?"

Dean looks surprised. "Me? Yes. Um...I - I'll just tag along with, uh..."

"Jared." Sam supplies.

"Jared...Jared here. And..Eliza?"

Jamie nods. "Eliza."

"Huh. Since when are you guys talking?"

Sam tries to think of what to say. "Yeah, uh, y-you know what, Clint, uh..."

"Uh, uh, Clif."

"Y-yeah. Yeah, of course. Clif. Obviously. Um, so, uh, I think we're gonna go back to my place a-and do some...work."

"Work on our acting." Dean quickly adds.

"Yeah."

Jamie tries to smile. "God knows they need it."

"For our characters. For the show." Dean continues.

Sam nods again. "Yeah."

Jamie nods. "Exactly."

"All right."

Dean looks around at the highway. "Where the hell are we, anyway?"

"De-uh Jensen."

Dean sees the 'Welcome to Vancouver' sign Jamie is pointing to. "Dude, we're not even in America."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean enter the Padalecki mansion. Dean looks around. "Nice modest digs, Jay-z."

Sam is also looking around. "Wow. I must be the star of this thing."

Jamie puts her hand on his chest. "Don't get full of yourself."

"Yeah, right. Check it out." Dean nods towards a tanning bed.

Sam looks at it. "What am I, Dracula?"

"George Hamilton Dracula."

"Ew." Jamie snickers.

Dean spots a liquor cabinet. "Oh. Now we're talking." He's peering out the glass doors. "Dude, you have a camel in your backyard."

"It's an alpaca, dumbass." The siblings turn to see Ruby standing at the top of the stairs.

"Ruby?" Dean asks.

"Ruby." right. That one never gets old." She turns to Sam. "How was work today, hon?" She kisses him.

Jamie and Dean stand there unsure. "Uh…"

Dean turns to Sam. "Wait. You and Ruby?"

"Do you honestly think that's funny, Jensen?" Ruby, whose real name is Gen, asks.

"Right. Right. 'cause you're not Ruby. You...I mean, how could you be? You...Of course! You are the lovely actress who plays Ruby. And you are, uh, in...Jared's house, Uh, because you two are..." Jamie spots a photo on the mantle of Jared and Genevieve's wedding. She slaps Dean on the shoulder and nods to it. "...Married! You married fake Ruby?" He looks at Sam.

Jamie smacks her face with her hand. "Smooth, dude. Very smooth."

"What are you doing?" Gen asks, looking at Sam.

"Work. Work." Sam answers.

Dean nods. "Yeah, just, uh, thought I'd pop in, say "hey." Hey. Uh, and - and -and maybe run some lines. It's... "

"You've never even been to our house. You either Eliza."

"Well, now that I know there's an alpaca out back, I'm definitely coming back."

Jamie nods. "Yeah. Yeah of course."

"Well, alpacas are the greenest animal."

Dean nods towards her. "Right. Right. That is so important."

"Well, there's that thing I have to get to."

"Oh, yeah. Of course, yeah. The thing."

"The international otter adoption charity dinner?"

"Oh."

"Okay, well..." Gen kisses Sam. "Well, I'm glad you three are talking, anyway."

"Yeah."

The siblings watch Genevieve leave the room. Dean and Sam check out her ass. Jamie rolls her eyes. "Boys!"

Dean turns around. "Uh, sorry. Jamie. Uh." He looks at Sam. "Well, looks like you did all right."

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah. I should figure out her name."

Jamie smirks. "Probably a good idea."

Sam is sitting at a desk in the library with a computer in front of a giant portrait of Jared as a cowboy with a suit of armor on either side. Jamie is leaning over his shoulder. "wrist bone of saint and holy reliquary. Museum-quality, from diocese in Oaxaca." - Looks legit."

Dean goes over and looks at it. "All right. Auction house is in Mexico City. We could be there day after tomorrow. We, uh, case it, yank it, be back here by the end of the week."

Jamie looks at them. "That's a long time to be stuck in this world, though."

Sam looks at them. "Or we could just buy it."

"What?! Dude, that thing's over a hundred thou—" Sam holds up a black credit card. "Hello, Jared Padalecki."

Jamie looks at the card. "Damn. Well, at least one good thing came out of this."

"Cubrir a su amigo en la aduana. no? Bueno." Sam is talking on the phone. Dean is doing more internet shopping.

"Triple rush. No problemo. Because money is no ob—" His purchase is denied. "This baby's maxed."

Sam hangs up and looks at Dean. "Wow. They said it should be at the airport first thing in the morning."

"Money, man. There is nothing like it. All right. Couch. Tv star. Beauty rest." Dean jumps onto the large black couch and lays down. "Ahh."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Typical, move over."

Dean moves over so Jamie can lay next to him. "Hey, I can put my arms around you again." He tells her.

"Do you guys want privacy?" Sam asks, chuckling. Dean and Jamie give him a look.

Sam picks up the package from the airport the next morning. Dean and Jamie are sitting in the car with Clif. "So I don't mean to pry, but, uh, why are we picking up packages at 8:00 A.M. that haven't cleared customs yet?"

Dean smiles. "Just saving time."

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

Sam enters the car with the package. He passes it back to Dean. "All right, here we go."

"We're not doing anything illegal, are we?"

Sam glances at him. "Would it make you feel better if we said no?"

"No."

Jamie smiles. "Then we won't say anything."

Jamie, Sam, and Dean set the package down in the set of Bobby's house. Dean opens the package and the lights above them turn on, startling them. "Whoa. What?"

Jamie looks around. "Oh God."

"We finish today in 12 hours if it kills us all. Get "a" and "b" cam for scene 12. What is this?" Bob turns to Sam, Jamie, and Dean. "Here for the first run-through, before anyone else? Dedication."

Dean walks over to Bob. "Uh, can I talk to you for a second? Um, we're gonna need the, uh, set cleared for - safe side, an hour or so."

"You need it cleared."

Dean nods. "Yeah. Yeah. Me and, Eliza, and um...Jared were gonna do some actor stuff."

Bob looks at him and smiles kindly. "Jensen, we're thrilled to see you collaborating so creatively. And your enthusiasm is refreshing. Dean Cain was like that on "Lois," And that man's a real actor. And we will clear this set exactly when we shoot the 2 3/8 pages we are scheduled to shoot on this set. So you do your "actor stuff" and we'll do our "camera stuff" and, uh..."

Dean walks away sheepishly. Misha is sitting with Sam and Jamie. "Ooh, "priority."what's in it?"

Jamie glances back at him. "Something we ripped off the Church for."

"I bought part of a dead person."

"Oh, cool."

Dean walks over. "Uh, so, bad news. Uh...Looks like we're gonna have to do a little acting."

Sam stares up at him in horror. "What?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I want to go home."

"Supernatural" scene 36, take 1. Marker!"

"Action!"

Sam, Jamie, and Dean stand behind Misha. Sam looks utterly terrified, Jamie crosses her arms and frowns, and Dean is staring earnestly.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back." Misha turns around. Jamie steps back, Sam flinches, Dean walks forward and then looks down at his mark and moves over to his right.

"Cut!"

"Supernatural" scene 36, take 8. Marker!"

"Action!"

Sam seems unsure of what to do with his arms and keeps rearranging them, folding, unfolding.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back."

Dean looks at the script in his hand. "Dean, grimly. And yet, somehow you got no problem with it."

"Cut!" Misha turns to the camera and mouths 'what the hell'. "Action."

Sam walks forward. "That's because...That's because we have no other choice." He says very poetic and dramatically.

"Don't look at the camera." Dean tells him.

"What?"

Jamie points. "You're looking at the camera."

Dean nods. "Yeah. Look anywhere but the camera."

Sam looks at the ceiling. "That's because we have no other choice!"

"Cut! For the love of... Action. Cut!"

Sam raises his arm stiffly. "If there's a key, then" He raises his other arm. "There must also be a lock."

"Cut. Action."

"If there's a key...then there has to be a lock. And when we find the lock, we can get the weapons, and then we can have the weapons. And the lock. We'll still have the lock, I imagine, because we've opened it, and, of course, the initial key."

"That doesn't sound hard at all." Jamie turns and makes a face.

"We need to get all three of that crap." He says in a deep hoarse voice.

Sam looks at him. "What?"

"That's how he talks."

"Oh."

"Do we really need all these lines? I mean, I-I-I-I think we've covered ?" He says out the window to Bob.

Jamie looks at Dean. "I need to throw up." They and Misha go and sit in their chairs.

Sam looks at the script. "Who wrote this? Nobody says "penultimate!"

Jamie moves closer to Sam and looks at the script. "This is…I don't even know anymore. I give up." She looks at Dean.

"Gun, mouth." He makes gun gesture at his mouth. "Now."

"Moving on!"

"Thank god." Dean says in relief.

Misha is tweeting on his phone. "I-m-h-o, 'J' and 'J' had a late one last night. Not sure what's up with El."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean rapidly unpack the package and assemble the spell. "All right, damn it. We earned this." Dean says.

Jamie looks over at the table. "Make sure you use the right symbol."

Dean looks over at her. "I'd kill for your journal right now."

"Me too."

Dean completes the blood sigil on the window. "That's it?" Sam asks.

"That's it, toto." Dean tells him.

Jamie steps back. "This better work. I'm losing my mind without the voices."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean come crashing through the window, but just land on the other side of the set.

Back in Jensen's trailer the siblings are sitting down and looking discouraged. "Maybe we did it wrong." Sam says.

Jamie shakes her head. "I checked it myself, Sam."

Dean glances at them. "No. No, that -that spell was perfect. It should have worked."

Sam sighs. "What if it can't? Look, I was up all night, looking online. There's no sign that anything like the apocalypse happened here. Ever. And as far as I can tell, monsters, ghosts, demons -they're all pretend."

Jamie stares at him. "What?"

"So nobody's hunting them?" Dean asks.

"No hunters. Look, maybe that's why our spell didn't work, Dean, you know? M-maybe here, there's no supernatural, no magic."

"No demons, no hell, no heaven, no - no god?"

"Something like. Even better - No angels."

Jamie looks down. "Oh…that's…"She sighs. "Now I really am going to throw up." She runs over to the bathroom.

"Jamie? Jamie!" Dean calls after her.

They hear Jamie puking. "We need to get her knocked back up."

At the motel room set a sigil glows and Virgil crashes through landing on the set.

Sam, Jamie, and Dean walk in front of the green screen where two stunt doules are punching each other next to the Impala. Dean looks at them and then continues walking. "Okay, maybe we can't get out of, uh, you know, Earth number two right now, but the least we can do is get the hell out of the Canadian part of it."

"Yeah." Sam says.

Jamie nods. "Agreed."

"I hear one more conversation about hockey, I'm gonna puke." He pauses and looks at Jamie. "No offense."

Jamie gives him a look. "Bitch later, run now."

Sam stops them. "Wait a minute. This way, this way, this way."

Dean points. "No, no, no, no, no. It's this way. It's this way!"

"No, Dean, look, I really -I really think that we should –" Sam spots Virgil. "Dean!"

Virgil comes up behind Dean. "You think you can run?" Virgil lays his hand on Dean's forehead, but nothing happens.

"No!"

Jamie grabs Sam's arm. "Wait. Sam, hang on."

"Sorry, dude. Mojo-free zone." Dean punches Virgil.

"No magic in the house." Sam says.

Dean grins. "Which makes you nothing but a dick."

Jamie shoves past Dean and Sam. "You took away my powers. My baby. By the way, this is for your boss." She kicks Virgil in the crotch. Dean and Sam look at each other and smirk. The three of them continue to beat up Virgil.

"You know, I oversee all the stunts, coordinate all the fights."

"That's exciting." The woman gestures to where Dean is punching Virgil. Sam is holding him back. Dean and Jamie take turns punching him. "Is that one of yours, then?"

"Guys!"

"Not good! Not good!"

Sam is being pulled off of Virgil. "No, no, no, no! Stop! You don't understand! No, no, no!" Virgil grabs the key from Sam's pocket.

"You're dead, Virgil!" Dean yells.

Jamie spits. "Virgil when we get back I'll make sure you are fried alive! I'll going to douse you in holy fire you son of a bitch!"

"I'm gonna break your friggin' neck! Hey!" Dean tries to get away.

Jamie fights. "Let me go, get the hell off me! Dean!"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie walk around the set. "I don't know. I mean, Virgil broke through. Maybe he's got a way to get back." Dean says to them.

Sam shakes his head. "Or he has no juice here, and now he's stuck, like us."

Jamie looks up. "This is a nightmare I want to end."

"Yeah, either way, I want to finish kicking his ass." Dean nods to his siblings.

"Me too." Sam follows him.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam walk into Bobby's house set, and Bob is sitting at the desk. He turns the desk light on. "There you are, guys! You got a minute?"

Sam stops. "Actually, we're -we're looking for, uh –"

"...for that extra you tried to kill? So, is it money? Is this the kind of act that goes away if we can scare up some coverage on a raise?"

Dean gives him a look. "More money? You already pay these three jokers enough as it is."

Jamie turns to him. "Well actually they pay you two. I'm just a third wheel."

"Yeah."

" 'cause I'd like to think that over these years, we've grown closer. That you don't think of me as "director Bob" or "executive producer Bob Singer," but as "uncle Bob."

Sam realizes something. "Wait, you're kidding. So, the character in the show, Bobby Singer –"

"What kind of douchebag names a character after himself?" Dean asks.

Jamie scoffs. "That's just wrong."

"Okay, guys, let's begin again."

"Yeah." The three siblings mutter at the same time.

Dean turns to his siblings. "You know, I don't think Virgil would have shagged out of here without getting his mitts on that key."

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I agree."

Jamie turns. "Mmm."

Sam starts searching his pockets. Jamie looks at him.

"Guys...You can't come to work on poppers and smuggle kidneys in from Mexico and make up your own lines as you go! You cannot make up your own lines! Good god, what about your careers?"

Sam turns to him. "You know what? Screw our careers, Bob."

"And screw you!" Sam and Jamie turn and walk out.

"What?!"

Dean smirks, turning back to him. "You heard my brother and sister. That's right, I said "brother and sister." 'cause you know what, Bob? We're not actors. We're hunters. We're the Winchesters. Always have been, and always will be. And where we're from, people don't know who we are. But you know what? We mattered in that world. In fact, we even saved a son of a bitch once or twice. And yeah, okay, here, maybe there's some - some fans who give a crap about this nonsense."

"I wouldn't call it nonsense."

"But, Bob Singer -If that even is your name -Tell me this -What does it all mean?"

"Okay. This is good. I mean, we've all had our psychotic breaks, right? I can work with this."

Sam and Jamie come back in. "Dean. Virgil -I think he has the key." Sam tells him.

"We gotta go, Dean. Come on." Jamie groans and turns away. "I need my freakin sight back, man." She stares up at the ceiling. "I would kill for a little precognition!"

"We quit." Dean says.

"Yeah." Dean and Sam turn and walk out, grabbing Jamie on the way.

Sam, Dean, and Jamie walk into the Padalecki mansion. "Maybe we get on the police dispatch system." Sam suggests.

"Put out an A.P.B on Virgil? Might work, if he stays obvious." Dean says.

Jamie nods. "We have to be quick about it though. It's not like we have a lot of time."

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" Gen runs up to them.

Sam turns to her. "What?"

"Misha! He's been stabbed to death!"

"Where?" Dean, Sam, and Jamie all say at the same time.

"Where?!" Gen asks in horror.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie walk down the alley. They glance over at Misha's body, covered in a sheet with a large blood stain. Jamie grabs her head and gasps. Dean and Sam grab her.

"Jamie?" Dean asks, concerned.

Jamie closes her eyes. "Mmm. Virgil. He…"

"Yeah, yeah, Raphael." Jamie, Dean, and Sam look up to where the cops are talking to a homeless man. "Like the ninja turtle. He was calling someone name of Raphael, up in heaven. Yeah, yeah. That's right. The - the scary man killed the attractive crying man, and then he started to pray. And the strange part -After a while, I s-swear I heard this voice, answering." He tells the siblings.

"What did it say?" Sam asks.

"Well, it didn't make any sense."

Jamie nods. "That's alright."

Dean looks at him. "Try us."

"The voice said, for Virgil "to return tomorrow"at the place where he crossed over, "at the time of the crossing." and Raphael would-"

"Reach through the window and take him and the key home." Jamie finishes. The homeless man looks at Jamie. Jamie clears her throat.

"Uh, okay. Hey, thank you." Dean hands homeless man 50 Canadian dollars. The homeless man leave. Jamie turns to her brothers. "You got your mojo back?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I don't think it's back, I think it's like a pocket. Virgil opened it with a blood spell to converse with Raphael. And…it's closed now. I can't see anymore."

"Damnit. " Dean cusses.

Sam tries to get their attention. "Uhh...guys, if Virgil gets back with that key, Cas is dead, and our world is toast."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Oh and we're screwed. Again."

Dean looks at them. "Well, then we stop him. I mean, how bad can an angel with no wings be?"

The next morning the Winchesters are back on the set of Bobby's house. "You know that if we drop Virgil, get the key, then this might be it. We might be stuck here." Dean tells them.

Sam shakes his head. "No, we'll figure out a way back."

Jamie looks up. "We have to."

"Yeah, you wouldn't be that broken up if we didn't, though."

Sam looks at his brother. "What? Don't be stupid."

Jamie sighs. "Dean."

"Well, I'm just saying. No hell below us, above us only sky."

"Dean, our friends are back there."

"Yeah, but here, Sam, you got a pretty good life. I mean, back home, the hits have been coming since you were 6 months old. You got to admit, being a-a bazillionare, married to Ruby, the whole package. It's no contest. And Jamie, is being normal really so terrible?"

Jamie gives him a hard look. "I want my baby back."

Dean relents. "Okay, good point."

Sam nods. "Besides, you know, you were right. We just don't mean the same thing here. I mean, we're not even siblings here, man."

"All right, then. Let's get our crazy show back home."

They hear gunfire, and look at each other.

Virgil enters the set and proceeds to shoot the crew. Sam comes out. "Hey!"

Virgil aims his gun at Sam. Jamie shoves him out of the way. Dean lunges at Virgil and punches him, throwing him through the set into the motel room. Sam and Jamie join the fight and they help Dean beat Virgil unconscious. Jamie takes the key back from Virgil.

"Dean! I got it! Let's go." Jamie says, but then doubles over grabbing her head. Sam and Dean look at her. Dean looks over at the window.

Sam notices the glowing sigil on the window. "Raphael."

"We gotta go, we gotta go!" Jamie tells them.

"Run!" Dean yells.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam fly backward through the window.

They end up outside a motel. Raphael is waiting for them. This time is vessel is a woman. "You three...Have the strangest luck."

Jamie looks down and feels her belly. "Thank God." She mutters.

"Please." Raphael shoots back.

Dean looks up. "Raphael? Nice meatsuit. Dude looks like a lady." Raphael squeezes her fist and causes Dean, Jamie, and Sam to bend over in pain. "The key." She picks it up from the ground.

"No!" Jamie says.

"And that will open you a locker at the Albany bus station." Balthazar says, walking up.

Dean and Sam get to their feet and help Jamie up.

"Really."

"You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing."

"Give me the weapons."

"Sorry, darling. They're gone."

"What?!"

"I said, too bloody late. You see, they were so well-hidden that I needed time to find them. So, I volunteered these three marmosets for a game of fetch with Virgil. You three were such an adequate stick. Thank you. Thank you, boys, Jamie."

"You've made your last mistake."

"Oh, I've got a few more up my sleeve, honey."

Raphael walks toward Balthazar. Dean and Sam turn to Jamie. "Castiel!" Jamie says.

Cas appears. "Step away from him, Raphael. I have the weapons now. Their power is with me."

"Castiel." Raphael looks shocked.

"If you don't want to die tonight, back off." Raphael disappears.

Balthazar turns to Cas. "Well, Cas...Now that you have your sword, try not to die by it."

Balthazar disappears. Castiel walks towards the siblings. "Cas, what the hell?" Sam asks. Castiel puts his hands on the three of them and brings the siblings back to Bobby's house. "Wait, wait, you were in on this, using us as a diversion?"

Castiel looks at him. "It was Balthazar's plan. I would have done the same thing."

"That's not comforting, Cas." Dean says.

Jamie turns to him. "You're lucky I can't kick your ass."

Castiel stares at them. "When will I be able to make you understand? If I lose against Raphael, we all lose. Everything."

Jamie sighs. "We know."

"Yeah, Cass. We know the stakes. That's about all you've told us!" Dean yells.

"I'm sorry about all this. I'll explain when I can."

"Castiel…" Castiel disappears. Jamie groans.

"Friggin' angels." Dean says, turning away.

Sam knocks on the wall. "Solid." He breathes out in relief. "It's real. Nice."

Jamie nods. "Yeah." She leans against the table.

Dean looks up. "Yeah. Yeah, real, moldy, termite-eaten home sweet home. Chock full of crap that want to skin you. Oh, and, uh, we're broke again."

Sam crosses his arms. "Yeah. But, hey...At least we're talking."

"Oh!" Jamie holds her stomach. Dean and Sam look at her in concern. She looks up and grins. "He kicked."


	39. 616 And then there were None

Rufus and Bobby drive up in Bobby's car outside Starlight Cannery and get out. Sam and Dean walk up to them. "I don't even know why you have a driver's licence." Rufus mutters in Bobby's direction.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Dean comments.

"Its really is good to see you, Rufus." Sam says.

Rufus grins. "I can believe it. It must get old dealing with this miserable cuss here all by yourself."

Sam snickers. "Is it that obvious?"

"Why don't you three get a room?" Bobby says sarcastically.

Jamie walks up. She's wearing a grey maternity top and black pants under a long black coat and has a backpack over one shoulder. "Why don't all four of you get a room?"

Dean turns around. "Jamie?"

Jamie looks at him. "Sam called." She shrugs.

Dean whirls around and glares at his brother. "Sam!"

Sam sighs. "We need her, Dean. You may not like it, but…"

Dean holds up his hand. "All right fine, have you been filled in?" Jamie nods.

Jamie moves past her brothers. "Hey Rufus."

Rufus smiles. "Hey Jamie. Look at you." Rufus puts his hand on her stomach. They hug.

Jamie pulls away and looks at the building. "Let's do this, guys."

Dean looks around. "We all pack a snack?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"Let's see what we can see."

Dean, Jamie, Sam, Rufus, and Bobby walk through the cannery, guns ready. Dean leads and Sam follows at the rear, both with flashlights. They walk up to a door and see another flashlight. Sam and Dean shove Jamie behind them and raise their guns. A door opens and Gwen steps out. "Gwen?" Dean asks.

"Dean." She says.

Samuel appears behind her, Dean walks toward Samuel, raising his gun. "Welcome to next time."

Sam and Jamie go over to Dean. "No, Dean…" Jamie tells him.

Sam lowers Dean's arm. "No, no, no, no! Hold on!"

"I said I'd kill him!" Dean yells.

Jamie holds unto him. "I know. I know."

Sam holds him back. "Look, just a second."

Rufus and Bobby walk up. "I take it you know each other."

Dean gestures to Samuel. "He's our grandfather."

"Oh. Somebody needs a hug." Rufus mutters.

Bobby steps forward. "Why are you here?"

"We're working. You?"

"None of your damn business!" Dean yells. Sam and Jamie hold unto him.

Bobby looks at the Winchesters. "Sam, Jamie, take Dean for a walk."

"You got to be kidding me." Dean says.

Sam looks at him. "Look, Dean, it's fine."

"How?"

"It will be fine, come on." Jamie tells him.

Sam and Jamie walk Dean out of the room. Dean turns to Sam. "What is wrong with you? First Jamie, now Samuel?"

"I'm standing right here."

"Look, maybe he knows something." Sam sighs.

"You don't remember what he did. I do."

Jamie: I do too, but you can't gank him just yet.

"Yeah. I'm not saying don't. I'm saying not yet." Sam re-enters the room with Jamie, Dean waits just outside.

Bobby walks up to Samuel. "So...you're Samuel."

"You must be the guy pretending to be their father."

"Well, somebody ought to." Bobby replies. Jamie walks over and smirks at Bobby, putting her hand on his shoulder. He claps her on the back.

"Hey Jamie." Samuel says.

"Hi."

Samuel is looking at her stomach. "You're uh showing." He gestures to her stomach. "How far along?"

Jamie narrows her eyes. "None of your damn business."

Samuel turns to Sam. "Sam. You're looking well."

"Save the small talk, all right?"

"You seem different."

"I got my soul back. No thanks to you, I hear."

"You hear? You don't remember."

"I remember enough."

"I, uh, really hate to break up this little circle of love, but why don't we talk shop, huh?" Rufus interrupts, looking at Samuel. "How about you tell us what it is you're hunting?"

Samuel and Gwen look at each other. Jamie turns to Rufus. "You want it from him or from someone you can trust?"

Bobby rubs her back. "Down Jamie." He whispers.

Samuel glares at her, stepping aside. "A creature from Purgatory. She calls herself Eve."

"Eve?" Sam asks.

Jamie turns to her twin. "She's the mother of all things slimy, smelly, and disgusting."

Sam mouths "Oh."

"Yep. She was here about 10,000 years ago. Every freak that walks the face of the earth can be traced back to her. And she's back."

"How the hell do you know all that?" Bobby asks.

Samuel looks at him. "You don't know half the things that I know, kid." Bobby smirks. "Hell, until recently, you didn't even know about us."

Bobby stares at him. "I now know that you'd throw your own kin to hungry ghouls. I think I know enough."

"You what?" Gwen turns to Samuel.

Samuel looks at her. "Dean lied to the man!" He yells.

Jamie steps forward. She gestures to Samuel. "He lied to you." She points at Gwen.

Bobby grabs Jamie by the shoulder. "How about you ask Dean?" Bobby says calmly.

"Good idea." Gwen exits the room.

Sam looks at Samuel. Jamie turns and looks up at Sam. He puts his hand on her shoulder. Jamie blinks and then turns around. "Dean!" Jamie bolts out the doors. Sam, Bobby and Rufus look at each other and then run after her.

Dean pulls out his gun and shoots Gwen in the heart. "No!" Jamie yells, catching Gwen as she falls. Dean bolts. The others arrive as Jamie is lowering Gwen to the floor. Sam checks for Gwen's pulse, and then gets back up to look for Dean.

Rufus and Bobby get down beside Gwen. "See if you can plug that hole up, Bobby. Jamie, go with your brother."

Jamie nods getting up and joining Sam. Rufus tries CPR chest compressions on Gwen, while Sam and Jamie search for Dean. There is blood coming out of Gwen's mouth and her eyes are frozen open. "Come on, girl! Come on! Come on! Come on!"

"She's gone." Bobby says.

"Ah, damn it." Rufus curses.

Bobby looks up at Samuel. "I'm sorry...If you care."

"Screw you. I care."

Sam and Jamie come back. "Is she, uh..."

Jamie nods, looking away. "Yes."

"Where's Dean?" Rufus asks, getting up.

Sam looks at Jamie and then back to the others. "We couldn't find him. Whatever got into those guys must have got into Dean."

Bobby gets up. "Rufus, Jamie, help Samuel move her somewhere. Sam, and I will lock down here. We're gonna want to find Dean before he finds us."

Sam stares at Samuel. "We're gonna find him alive, Samuel, or I'm gonna put a bullet into your head."

"Four bullets." Jamie corrects, staring at their grandfather. "One for Dean, one for Sam, one for me, and one for my baby."

Sam, and Bobby walk through the Cannery, locking doors. Rufus and Jamie put Gwen's body in a store room. When they come out, Samuel is loading bullets into his gun. Jamie stares darkly at him and then walks off. All five search, Sam dials Dean's cell-phone. Jamie and Rufus hears it ring. Rufus turns around and Dean comes out, both aim guns at each other. Jamie walks over.

"Dean." She says. She and Rufus point their guns at Dean.

"Dean, put that damn thing down." Rufus tells him. Samuel runs over aiming his gun at Dean, Dean points his gun at Samuel. "Dean, put it down."

"You're the least of my worries right now, Rufus." Dean says.

Jamie lowers her gun. "Dean…"

Dean doesn't look at her. "Jamie, why are you…"

Sam and Bobby rush up. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Sam says.

"Guys…easy." Jamie says to Sam and Bobby.

"Okay, both of you." Bobby says.

"Both of us, my ass." Rufus shoots back.

"I'm not in the mood. I just had a 12-inch...Herpe crawl out of my ear." Dean yells.

"What?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes. "You heard me. I just woke up on the ground, just in time to see this - this...worm thing sliding out of my freaking ear and into that vent. So you tell me what the hell's going on!"

"You killed Gwen. That's what's going on." Samuel tells him.

Dean looks shocked. "We were just talking out in the hallway. That's the last thing I remember. That thing must have jumped me."

Bobby gets a disgusted look. "So, we're talking about, like, a monster that gets in you?"

"Let me see, Dean." Jamie holds up her hand. Dean looks at her and nods. Everyone points their guns at Dean. Jamie walks forward and puts her hand on Dean's ear. She opens her eyes. "As crude as that sounds. Yes. A bug or a worm…something sticky and slimy." She looks at her brother.

"It's like a Khan worm on steroids." Dean says. Jamie nods.

"You mean like a parasite, something that took over your body." Sam says, trying to understand.

"Worm crawls in you, worm crawls out." Dean finishes.

"Monster possession? That's novel." Rufus mutters.

Samuel raises his gun. "Or that thing's still in you, and we can't trust a word that you're saying."

"You shut up, or my gun is getting aimed in your direction." Jamie spits.

"It's not!" Dean yells, pointing his gun at Samuel.

"Check your ear." Bobby tells him.

"What do you mean, check my ear? Check my ear for what?" Rufus sticks his finger in Dean's ear. "Hey! What? Why don't you buy me a drink first?"

"Second date. Oh, yeah, we're goo positive." Rufus says, flicking his fingers.

"What does that mean? What does that mean?" Dean asks worriedly.

"That means it was in you, all right."

"Or it still is." Jamie points her gun at Samuel.

"It's not in me!" Dean also points his gun at Samuel.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Rufus says. "Dean, Jamie."

Bobby goes over and grabs a sack. "Okay. Everybody, give up your guns."

"What?" Samuel asks.

"But Bobby…" Jamie says.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, think about this for a second, Bobby." Rufus says.

"I'm thinking we don't know who is and who ain't got the damn Khan worm up inside his melon." Bobby tells them.

"It's not in me!" Dean yells.

"I didn't say it was. Point is we don't know who it is. It could be any one of us. So the best we can do...is to make it that much harder for that thing to blow our fool heads off." Bobby holds open a sack and puts his gun inside. Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Rufus follow.

"Are you waiting for a handwritten invite, Campbell?" Samuel reluctantly gives up his gun.

They go back into the room and lock their weapons in a locker. "Okay. We need some time to breathe, make a plan." Bobby says.

"A plan? Based on?" Samuel asks.

"I'm gonna make a few phone calls, see if anybody ever heard of anything like this." Bobby tells him.

Rufus nods. "Hmm. Ditto. Got a few trees I can shake."

Jamie looks at Dean and Sam. "I'll call Aaron." She moves away from them. "I'd kill for Jefferson to be alive, though." She mutters, taking out her phone.

Bobby is on the phone. "Oh, balls, Allard. No, I told you that."

Rufus flips his phone closed. "Damn it."

Jamie walks over to where Dean and Sam are sitting. Dean looks up at her and then to Samuel, he's staring at Dean and Jamie. Samuel gets up. Sam blocks his path. "Relax. Bathroom break. So unless you want to hold it for me..." Samuel leaves the room. Dean and Sam glance at Jamie and then follow him.

Bobby flips his phone shut. "Well, I got a dump truck full of bubkes."

"Nothing here, either. You call Willie?" Rufus asks.

"Of course. You think I'm an idjit?"

Jamie walks over. "Aaron didn't know much either. Nothing in Jefferson's journal."

Rufus nods and then looks back at Bobby. "How about Raj?"

"Wouldn't talk to me."

"Yeah, me neither." He scoffs and then gestures to Jamie. "Think he'd talk to Jamie?"

Bobby shakes his head. "Doubtful. He wasn't fond of John. No offense, girly."

Jamie shrugs. "None taken." She crosses her arms and leans against the lockers.

"Okay, plan "B." Let's just go and grab the thing." Bobby says walking around the table.

Rufus is dialing another number. "And then what, exactly?"

"Well, we sit on our thumbs, or we go in guns blazing." Rufus looks up towards him.

"Like Omaha?"

"You know what? Screw you for bringing up Omaha. That's just low." Bobby tells him.

Jamie looks up. "What happen in Omaha?"

Bobby points at Rufus. "See what you did?!" Rufus holds his hands up innocently.

"Okay, then. We'll just see." Dean sees goo coming from Samuel's ear, Samuel pulls his gun, Dean grabs his arm and angles it up. Samuel fires but the shot misses. He shoves Sam and Dean against the lockers and runs. Jamie runs in and goes over to Sam and Dean. "Sam, Dean!" She grabs unto them. They hug her and then rush off after Samuel.

Bobby and Rufus run up. "I heard a shot."

"Samuel!" Dean yells, he and Sam run after Samuel. Jamie stays behind.

Rufus turns. "I'm gonna be needing my gun back now, Bobby."

"You think?"

"Yeah."

Bobby goes to the locker and tries to get the lock off. Jamie walks in and waves her hand. The locker holding their weapons blows open. Rufus looks over at her, impressed. "Huh. It's true then. The prophetess does possess great gifts."

Jamie closes her eyes and sighs. "Please don't call me that. It was a long time ago." Rufus gives her a sympathic look.

"Kiddo, you're blocking me." Bobby says. Jamie moves to the side and grabs Dean and Sam's guns. Rufus turns to Bobby.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You know, it was a good plan, except for the part where a monster would definitely, definitely not give up all his weapons."

"Shut up."

Dean and Sam enter the room. Jamie hands them their guns. "We lost him." Dean says.

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asks.

Dean turns. "We stick together. We got to keep track of this thing, who it's in."

Jamie shrugs. "Well I'm probably immune, so I'll go first."

Sam looks at her. "Jamie…"

"You got a better idea?" Jamie gives him a look.

They search the cannery. Suddenly Sam grabs Jamie and pulls her back. Dean, Jamie, Bobby and Rufus point their guns at Sam. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on. Look." Sam shines his flashlight down revealing a wire line.

"Booby trap." Jamie mutters.

"Son of a bitch." Dean sighs.

Bobby looks up. "I'll be damned." They step over the trap carefully and continue. Suddenly the lights go off and a door slides closed behind Sam and he is cut off from the rest of the group.

"Hey! Hey!" Dean yells seeing the door slide.

"Sammy!" Jamie yells.

"Whoa! Dean! Jamie!" Sam calls from behind the wall.

"Sam! Damn it. Son of a bitch." Dean cusses.

"Dean?" Sam asks.

"Sam!"

"Sam, you alright?" Jamie asks.

"Yeah, Jamie. Can you get the door?" Sam replies.

Dean looks at Jamie and shines his flashlight around the door. Jamie looks it up and down. "I can try." She steps back. Jamie focuses on the door and tries to slide it open with her telekinesis. It rumbles but doesn't move.

Dean puts his hands on her shoulders. "Stop, stop." He turns to the wall. "Sam, it's too heavy for her."

"Alright, I'm gonna go around, okay?"

"Alright. Watch yourself."

"Yeah."

"Come on, Jamie."

The siblings go their separate ways.

Dean and Jamie finally find him. "Sam! Sam." Dean yells running up to him.

"Sammy." Dean pushes Jamie back a step, seeing Samuel's dead body.

"Oh, thank God." Bobby and Rufus catch up and notices Samual's dead body. "Drop the gun, Sam." Bobby points his gun at him.

Sam puts his gun down. "It's me."

"Okay. That's great, Sam. Just got to cuff you, uh, till we can be sure, okay? You understand, right?" Rufus turns Sam around and ties his wrists together.

"It's in him." Sam gestures at Samuel.

"Are you sure?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think."

Bobby glances over his shoulder. "Jamie?"

"You see anything come out of him...after he dropped?" Rufus asks.

Jamie walks over and puts her hand on Sam's ear. "I don't think it's in Sam."

They take Samuel back into the room and swab his ears. "Tell me you got something." Dean says. Bobby looks at the swab.

"Nothing."

Sam looks up. "What? So - so you mean he wasn't a monster when I ganked him?"

Rufus looks up. "One way to find out. Bobby, you got a cranial saw in the car?"

Bobby smirks. "Of course."

"You're not going alone." Dean says.

"Oh, no, he won't. He won't. We will both go grab some tools and see about getting some power in this place. And I want you and you to - okay, I want you and you and you to watch him and him and - all right, if anything crawls out of anybody, somebody step on it." Rufus says putting his hands up.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Brilliant plan. Be careful."

Sam nods. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll watch Samuel. Dean will watch me. Jamie will watch Dean."

"Yeah, right." Rufus and Bobby exit the room.

Dean turns to Sam. "You did the right thing, you know."

Sam looks at him. "You mean you think I did, if it's in him and I'm me." He scoffs. "This thing's playing three-card monte with us."

Jamie turns to her brother. "You're you, Sam."

Dean shrugs. "Well, I'm just gonna assume you're you, anyway."

Sam shakes his head. "You've been wrong before, Jamie."

"Not often." She shoots back.

"You want to take this off, then?" Sam motions with his bound wrists.

Dean smirks. "Not till we get that sucker out of his walnut."

Sam shakes his head, staring at the bosy. "I don't know. I mean, I barely remember him, and what I do remember - it's not good. And what he did to us...But..."

Dean looks up. "There's a "but"?

"I mean, I just can't help but think..."

"What would mom say?" Jamie finishes.

Dean walks forward. "You know what I think mom would say? She'd say just 'cause you're blood doesn't make you family. You got to earn that."

The lights come on and Rufus and Bobby enter. "Well...All right. Let's play operation." Rufus takes out a saw. Dean crosses his arms.

Bobby looks at the siblings. "You three want to take a breather?"

Dean shrugs to his sister. "Jamie needs to get out of here, but we're good."

Bobby gives him a look. "We're about to crack open your grandpa's grapefruit. Take a breather."

Dean, Jamie, and Sam exit. They stand out in the hallway.

When Bobby and Rufus begin sawing Samuel's head, and his eyes open. He fights Rufus and Bobby and throws them both off of him. Dean, Sam, and Jamie hear the commotion and rush for the door. Samuel breaks off a table leg and shoves it through the door handles just as the siblings around.

"Damnit!" Jamie yells.

"Dean."

Sam, Jamie, and Dean see Samuel. Dean frees Sam's hands, and shoves Jamie back. Sam tries to kick the door in. Bobby throws Samuel against the frayed cable and Samuel is electrocuted. The Kahn worm leaves Samuel. Dean and Sam kick the door open. Jamie comes in behind them. "I could have just blown the doors off." She says.

"Bobby, you okay?" Sam asks, going over to him.

"Rufus. Rufus. Rufus. Hey, you all right? Wake up." Dean says.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. It's all right. I got you. Come on." Sam and Jamie help Bobby up.

"Come on." Dean helps Rufus up.

"This can't be my afterlife 'cause the four of you are here. What happened?" Rufus asks.

"Well, when we left, he was dead on the table." Sam tells him.

Bobby shrugs. "Yeah, till he wasn't."

Rufus looks around. "So how did he get double dead?"

"Bobby threw him against that." Jamie says, pointing to the wire. "It's a live wire. It shorted, and he went ape. Then that thing crawled out of his ear."

"At least we know what tickles it. Electricity." Bobby says.

Sam turns to his siblings. "Yeah. Now the question is, where'd it go? You see?"

"No. Jamie?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I lost it."

Sam gestures to Bobby and Rufus. "You two were down for the count."

Dean turns around. "Yeah. Well, either it bailed or it's in either one of you."

Rufus points. "Or, it's in one of you."

"No, we were awake." Dean says dismissively.

"Did you have eyes on each other?"

"Yes."

"100% of the time?"

Dean pauses. "Define 100%."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Boys…"

"Like I said."

Sam tries to diffuse the tension. "All right, how about, uh, check for goo, right?" All five stick their fingers in their ears. "Nothing."

Jamie looks around. "Great."

Bobby looks up. "It might just be gone."

Dean shakes his head. "No. It might have wised up and covered its trail."

"All right, let's settle this...100%."

Dean turns to Sam. "How?"

Sam looks up at him. Jamie shakes her head. Sam strips the cable, Dean plugs it in. "You're live." Sam runs the cable over the chair. It sparks everywhere.

Jamie steps back. "Oh god."

Sam's eyes widen. "Okay. All right." He holds the cable against Samuel. "Yeah."

"Okay. I'm not a doctor, but I'm gonna go ahead and call this one." Rufus says.

"Yeah. All right,who wants to go first?" Sam asks, looking around.

Dean points to Jamie. "First we all agree Jamie is immune; we're not shocking my seven months pregnant sister." He says firmly.

She looks at him. "Jamie is immune. Next."

"Come on." Dean removes his jacket.

"You sure?"

"Hurry up before I start thinking –" Sam holds the cable against Dean's arm. "Son of a...Whew. Awesome. Here, you want me to –" Jamie puts her arms around Dean. Sam holds the cable against his own arm. Jamie winces.

Dean gestures for Sam to hand him the cable. "Let's go."

"Yep."

Rufus steps back, holding his hands up. "Uh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Uh, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"No passes, Rufus. Come on." Dean tells him.

"Jamie got a pass."

"No Jamie's baby got a pass."

Rufus stares at him. "I got a damn pacemaker."

Dean isn't sympathetic. "Well, you better hope it's a good one."

Bobby turns to him. "Since when do you got a pacemaker?"

Rufus looks at him. "Since Bush Jr., term one. I'm down three toes, too, F.Y.I."

Sam looks up. "Well luckily we have a failsafe. Jamie?"

Jamie walks over. "Give me your hand, Rufus." Jamie takes his hand and closes her eyes. "Do him." She lets go of his hand and steps back.

"All right, come on. Just make it quick." He offers Dean his arm.

He cusses as Dean holds the cable against his arm. "God! God! Damn it! Damn it!"

Dean pulls it back. "You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. Give me that." He grabs the cable from Dean.

Bobby is shifting around. "Okay. All right, my turn. Well, it ain't inside me, so go right ahead."

"All right, then just stand still, Bobby."

"Okay, sure."

"I'll make this quick."

"No problem."

"All right? Let's do this."

"Okay, uh, just a second, Rufus."

"Guys…" Jamie mutters. Dean moves her and Sam back a step.

"Just a second nothing, whatever you are." Rufus says.

'I'm Bobby."

"Bobby, my ass." Bobby stabs Rufus in the chest.

"No!" Jamie screams.

"Bobby!" Rufus falls and Sam lowers him to the ground. "Rufus." Jamie rushes over to Rufus. Sam and Dean stand on either side of Bobby. Bobby looks between them holding the knife. Jamie kneels down next to Rufus. "Bobby, there are three of us and one of you."

He goes after Sam. Sam catches a hold of Bobby and Dean punches him, knocking him unconscious. Sam throws him to the floor. They look at each other and then down to Rufus. Jamie is sitting on the floor crying. Dean gets down beside her and hugs her. He looks up at Sam. "Ducktape." He mutters.

Bobby wakes tied to a chair with duct tape. Dean, Sam, and Jamie are sitting on the tables looking at him. "Well, hey, there, you little herpe." Dean holds the cable against Bobby's neck.

Sam looks suspiciously at Dean. "Why do you keep talking about herpes?"

Jamie snickers even though she looks pissed.

"What? I don't. Shut up. Shut up." He turns to Bobby. "Now, don't you even think about shagging ass out of here, 'cause we got every crack in this room sealed. So get comfy."

"I am comfy. It's nice in here. And you love this guy, don'tcha? You really want to kill me and take him with me? Haven't you lost enough pals today?"

Jamie growls. "Shut up you slimy bastard."

Dean stares at him. "We'll do what we have to do. And we got some questions for you, so you can either play ball, or we could fry up a little shrimp on the barbie."

"Ask. Been waiting for you to ask."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I got nothing to hide."

"What are you?" Sam asks.

Bobby looks at him. "You haven't got a name for me yet. I'm new around here."

Jamie looks up, realizing. "Eve cooked you up all by herself." Dean holds the cable to Bobby's neck again.

"Who is she, this Eve bitch?"

"The mother of all of us, and the end of all of you. By the time she's done, there'll be more creatures than humans. You'll live in pens." He looks at Jamie. "We'll serve up your young and call it veal."

Jamie takes a step back with her hands on her stomach. Sam pushes her behind him. "And what's your deal in all of this? I mean, how's jumping a few truckers gonna help?"

"You think I'm here to mess with a couple of Cannery workers? We led you here."

"Why?"

"She has a message for us." Jamie tells them.

Dean looks at her and then at Bobby. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"You're all gonna die. She's pissed. She's here. And it's gonna be nothing but pain for you from here on in."

"Well, here's my response." Dean holds the cable to Bobby's neck again.

"Dean. Dean!" Sam stops him. "How much more do you think he can take?"

"You can't kill me, not without taking him with me."

"We'll see about that won't we." Jamie challenges.

Dean looks at his siblings. "Well...We'll just have to do what Bobby would want us to do." Sam wraps Bobby's mouth and ears shut with duct tape. He steps back and grabs Jamie's hand. "No way out now, slug-o." Dean looks at Sam and Jamie. They nod. "Bobby, hang on in there." Jamie squeezes her eyes shut. Sam wraps his arm around her and turns her away. Dean holds the cable to Bobby's neck until he sags forward. "Bobby?"

"Is he, uh...Hey, hey." Sam starts to peel off the duct tape, the Khan worm falls out, dead. "Whoa. Bobby."

"Bobby, hey." Dean yells.

Sam looks at Jamie. "He's not breathing."

"Bobby!" Jamie yells.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are standing looking at Rufus's grave in the cemetery. It starts to rain. Bobby walks up. Jamie rubs her belly. Dean looks around at the star of David on the headstones. "I got to say, I never figured Rufus for the religious type."

Bobby looks down. "Well, he didn't exactly keep kosher. He always used to pull the old "can't work on the sabbath" card whenever we had to bury a body. You know, I-I was just a job. I was Joe mechanic. Then my wife got possessed...went nuts on me. I stabbed her, and that didn't stop her. Next thing I knew, this guy comes busting in, soaks her with holy water, and sends that demon straight to hell so fast. I'd have gone away for killing her. But... Rufus cleaned up everything. Taught me a thing or two about...what's really out there. Pretty soon, we were riding together. Worked like that for years, kind of like you three knuckleheads."

Jamie looks down. "Like me and Andrew." Dean puts his hand on her shoulder.

"So, what happened?" Sam asks.

"It was Omaha. It was my fault."

"I'm sorry Bobby." Jamie tells him.

Bobby nods. "He never let it go."

"Well, he should have."

"You don't know what I did, Dean." Bobby looks at him.

"Doesn't matter."

"What do you mean, it doesn't –"

Dean cuts him off. "I mean at the end of the day, you three are family. Life's short, and ours are shorter than most. We're gonna spend it wringing our hands? Something's gonna get us eventually, and when my guts get ripped out, just so you three know, we're good. Blanket apology for all the crap that anybody's done all the way around."

Sam looks at him. "Some of us pulled a lot of crap, Dean."

Jamie slugs him lightly. "Shut up, Sam."

"Well, clean slate." Dean says.

Sam nods. "Okay."

Dean looks down at his sister and wraps his arm around her waist. "You too, Jamie." He puts his other hand on her stomach. She smiles, and puts hers on top of his. Bobby takes out a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue and pours some on the grave. Dean pulls Jamie back and Sam puts his arm around her shoulders, they walk away, leaving Bobby alone.


	40. 620 The Man who would be King

Jamie is in a motel room alone, reading John's journal. Her hair is loose, and she's wearing jeans and a long sleeve grey top under a hooded sweatshirt. She's very visibly pregnant. Another book is open in front of her. Castiel appears at her side. "Jamie?"

Jamie closes John's journal and turns to him. "What is it, Cas?" She gives him a hard look and then looks down. "Get out of my sight."

"You haven't told your brothers yet."

"Told them what?" She gets off the bed and walks across the room. She looks over at the bed and the book flies off it into her hands. "Told them what, Castiel?" She asks, her voice is hoarse.

"What I've done." He answers simply.

"What you've done." She spits. A tear slides her face. "Your child will be born any day now, and you've…What you've done is nothing compared to what you will do. I told you to get out." She turns away from him. "I have a djinn to hunt."

"Jamie, I…" Castiel sighs and looks down. Just as he's about to leave Jamie's voice stops him.

"Cas?"

"Yes?"

"Don't let him hurt them. No matter what, do not let him hurt my brothers."

"I promise. I will not let harm come to the Winchester brothers."

The sounds of Castiel's wings fill the room and he disappears. Jamie wipes her eyes. Sam opens the door and sees her standing there with the book. "Cas was here?"

"Yeah. You got here pretty fast."

"I just did what you told me to do."

"Yeah."

"He knows you know, doesn't he."

"He doesn't know that you know. And I would prefer to keep it that way. Now, we need to get going." Jamie stuffs her books and John's journal into her bag and heads for the door. Sam turns off the lights and follows her.

In Bobby's living room a demon, Red, is strapped to a chair under the devil's trap on Bobby's ceiling. Sam and Bobby are there. "I got to tell you, Red...for a filthy, lower-than-snake-spit Hellspawn, you seem to have turned yourself into a damn fine hunter. I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you." Bobby tells him.

"Oh, please, kill me."

"That was you that dug out that nest of vamps back in Swan Valley, wasn't it?" Bobby asks.

"That was nice work. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was my sister's." Sam tells him.

"Eight of 'em in one go, roped and tied." Red says.

"And then you brought them to Crowley, right?" Bobby asks.

"Read the papers, redneck. The king is dead." Bobby chuckles and tosses holy water on Red's neck. "Ugh! Nng!"

"Crowley's alive. You prove it just by being, you poor, dumb jackass. Crowley's alive. His nets are still out. Except now he's using you schmucks to hunt his monsters." Bobby yells.

"Up yours."

Bobby turns to Sam and holds out his hand. Sam hands Bobby Ruby's knife. Dean enters and nodes towards Sam. Sam goes into the kitchen with him. Jamie is there waiting.

"Red...Where's Crowley? No? Nothing? Oh, okay, then. Here, hang on to this for a bit." Bobby stabs Red in the leg with Ruby's knife.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahh! Aaaaaaaaaaaahh!"

The siblings close their eyes at the sounds of screaming. Sam turns to Dean. "So, what'd you tell him?"

"Nothing. Just relax."

"What's the hubbub?" Bobby asks, walking in.

"I saw Cas. He popped in on me about three-four hours back."

Jamie nods. "He got me too. But I knew he was coming."

Bobby looks at Jamie. "What'd you tell him?"

"Nothing."

Bobby turns to Dean.

"Nothing, all right? Told him we were on some crap monster hunt. He doesn't know that we're getting close to Crowley. You know, he's our friend...And we are lying to him through our teeth."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean—"

"-so he burned the wrong bones. So Crowley tricked him."

"Dean…" It's Jamie this time.

"He's an angel." Bobby says.

"He is the Balki Bartokomous of Heaven! He can make a mistake!"

"Nobody's saying nothing yet."

Jamie and Sam look at each other. Jamie looks away.

"You think that Cas is in with Crowley. Crowley?" Dean looks at Jamie.

Jamie looks up. "Don't look at me. Do not look at me!"

"You do, don't you!"

Sam steps between Dean and Jamie. "Dean…lay off her."

The siblings stare at each other for a few tense moments. Finally Bobby speaks up. "Look, I'm just saying I don't know. Now, look, I hate myself for even thinking it. But I don't know."

Castiel is standing behind them, invisible. Jamie raises her head. Her eyes drift towards Cas but she doesn't turn. Sam turns to Dean. "Look, Dean, he's our friend, too, okay? And I'd die for him. I would, but..."

Jamie sighs. "But something isn't right, Dean. I feel it."

"Look, I'm praying we're wrong here."

Bobby nods. "But if we ain't...If there's a snowball of a snowball's chance here...that means we're dealing with a Superman who's gone dark side. Which means we've got to be cautious, we got to be smart, and maybe stock up on some Kryptonite."

Jamie scoffs. "I think it's a little bit more complicated then Kryptonite."

Dean turns to Sam. "This makes you Lois Lane."

"Look, one problem at a time here. We got to find Crowley now, before the damn fool cracks open Purgatory." Bobby goes back to Red. "Where's Crowley?"

"Up yours." Bobby twists the knife.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!" Jamie moves towards Dean. He looks at her and then looks away. She stands with her back to Sam and Bobby. "I don't know where Crowley is!"

"Are you sure about that? 'Cause we can twist again all the way to next summer." Bobby twists Ruby's knife again.

"Oh, God! I never even met him! I don't deal with Crowley direct."

"He's telling the truth." Jamie turns back to them.

"Well, who do you deal with?"

"The dispatcher. A demon named Ellsworth."

"Ellsworth?" Jamie walks forward and looks at Red. He nods.

"Whose Ellsworth?" Sam asks.

"Ellsworth is the Bobby Singer of the dark side." Jamie has a weird look on her face, as though the words aren't hers.

Dean and Bobby enter through the front door of Ellsworth's house, Sam and Jamie meet them inside the house. "Hey. Clear from the back." Sam says.

"Demons get tipped and bugged out?" Dean asks.

"Maybe they run from us now. I mean, that would be a nice thought, right?" He shrugs.

"Yeah, if that's what happened." Bobby says grimly.

"Yeah." Sam turns around. "Jamie? What's the verdict?"

Jamie has been pacing around the room. She stops at the desk. "I did it to protect the boys." She whispers. She doesn't look at them. "Something got to them before we did. Something powerful."

"Crowley?" Bobby asks.

"Maybe." She looks up towards them. "Maybe not."

They split up and look around. Jamie stares at the desk. Dean finally turns around and looks at her. "Jamie what is going on?"

Jamie sighs, running her fingertips along the desk. "There was someone here. Or maybe it's still here. There is this presence, I just, I can't shake it. It's like I could reach out and touch it."

Dean walks over to her. "Do you think it might be the baby? Is he doing something? Uping your mojo?"

Sam walks in. "Hey...The place is clean."

Bobby joins them. "Yeah, but it's...It's like "Mr. Clean" clean, you know? It's kind of OCD for your average demon."

Dean turns to them. "I don't know. Jamie thinks whatever was here is still here. She's getting this weird feeling that isn't going away."

"Great." Sam sighs. "Well, I've learned not to ignore Jamie's psychic crap. So what now? If the thing that got the demons is still here why isn't it attacking us?"

"Bidding it's time, maybe?" Bobby shrugs.

"So what do we do?" Sam asks.

"We'd call Cas." Dean says.

"What?"

"This is usually the point where we would call Cas for help."

Jamie walks over to them. "Dean."

"We talked about this." Bobby tells him.

"Yeah, Dean."

Dean glances between the three of them. "No, you talked. I listened. This is Cas, guys. I mean, when there was no one...And we were stuck - and I mean really stuck - he broke ranks. He has gone to the mat cut and bleeding for us so many freakin' times. This is Cas! Don't we owe him the benefit of the doubt at least?"

Jamie looks away. Sam sighs and closes his eyes. "Castiel...This is really important, okay? Um...We really need to talk to you." Dean closes his eyes and looks down.

"Castiel...Come on in." Dean pleads.

Sam looks across the room to his sister. "Jamie, you try. He has to come when you call, right?"

"Jamie. Please?" Dean asks.

Jamie sighs. "God…Castiel in the name of God get your ass down here!" She pauses. Dean frowns. She rolls her eyes and holds her arms out, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. "Castiel, in nomine dei, te rogamus audi nos." After a moment she puts her arms down and looks away.

"Cas is busy." Dean mutters.

"Why are you afraid?" Jamie suddenly asks.

Sam, Dean, and Bobby whirl around and look at her. "What did you just say?" Dean asks.

"I.." Jamie turns around. "Something just said 'Because I was afraid."

"What the hell?" Bobby asks. "Is there a ghost in here?"

"There is something here!" Jamie says definitively. She sits on the table. "Something is making my psychic thing go insane." She rubs her eyes. "And I can't pinpoint it, except to this spot." She points to the desk.

"Maybe the desk is haunted?" Sam asks.

"We don't have time for a ghost hunt." Dean sighs. "Alright, what do you want to do?" He looks at his sister.

"Incoming!" She yells getting off the desk.

"Dean!" Sam yells in warning.

Dean is attacked by a demon, as are Sam, Jamie, and Bobby. Dean is thrown to the floor. Sam is thrown through a table. Bobby is thrown through a glass door. Jamie is put against the wall. "Crowley says "hi." The demon punches Dean in the face. Jamie jumps up and kicks the demon attacking her in the head. She grabs her stomach. He stumbles back and then charges for her. Castiel appears and smites the demons attacking Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Bobby. Sam gets up. Bobby puts his hat back on. Jamie catches her breath. Dean gets up.

"It is good to see you, Cas." He says.

"You all right?" The angel asks.

Sam nods. "Yeah. Perfect timing, Cas."

Jamie smirks. "Not that you have much choice when they attack us. Idiots."

Dean hurries over to his sister and puts one arm around her and the other against her stomach. "Jamie, you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dean."

"No contractions, nothing out of place?"

"Dean…I'm okay."

Cas turns to Dean and Jamie. "I'm glad I found you. I come with news."

"Yeah? What?" Dean asks.

"I firmly believe Crowley is alive."

Dean scoffs as he and Jamie join Bobby and Dean. "Yeah. You think, Kojak?" He looks at Bobby. "Well, Bobby, what do we think about Cas saving our asses...Again?"

Bobby puts his hands in his pockets. "I think we owe you an apology." He says as sincerely as he can manage.

"Why?"

Sam looks at Jamie. She nods. "Tell him."

Sam turns to Cas. "We've been hunting Crowley this whole time...And keeping it from you."

Bobby shrugs. "We thought...You were working with him."

Jamie and Castiel stare a look. "You thought what?" Cas asks.

Dean looks at Cas. "I know. It's crazy, right?"

"It's just that you torched the wrong bones. It doesn't matter. We - we were wrong." Bobby says sheepishly.

Castiel walks towards Bobby. "You know...You could've just asked me."

Dean nods. "And we should have. We never should've doubted you. It's...I just hope you can forgive us."

Castiel looks at Jamie. Jamie smiles. "We're sorry we doubted you, Cas."

Cas looks down. "It's forgotten."

Jamie raises her head quickly, staring at Cas.

"Thanks." Dean tells him.

"Yeah. Thanks, Cas." Sam echos.

"It is a little absurd, though." Cas says, amused.

Bobby shakes his head. "I know, I know."

"Superman going to the dark side. I'm still just Castiel."

Dean glances at Jamie who has been staring at Cas intently. "I guess we can put away the Kryptonite, right?" Dean says to the angel with a smile.

"Exactly."

Jamie has a flashback. She's dressed in her angel attire, holding an angel killing sword and standing behind Castiel. They're standing before Raphael. Cas raises his hand and a bright light encircles Raphael. "A whore is a whore is a whore." She opens her eyes. Cas has left and Bobby, Sam, and Dean are staring at her.

"It was Cas. Wasn't it? The presence." Sam stares at his sister. Jamie nods.

"Castiel!" It's dark. They're still at Ellsworth's. Bobby is sitting in a chair and pouring whiskey. Sam paces with a binder. Jamie is sitting on the other side of Dean. Dean is sitting down looking worried. "Cas, uh...We need you for a little powwow down here, so come on down."

Cas appears across the room. "Hello."

"Oh, Johnny on the spot." Bobby mutters, putting his glass down.

The angel looks around the room. "You're still here."

"Yeah, we had to bury the bodies." Sam tells him.

"Took awhile." Jamie adds.

Dean raises his glass. "And we found a little whiskey. Thanks for coming."

"How can I help?"

"Oh, look." Sam opens the binder. "We, um - we have a new plan. We think we've finally figured out a way to track down Crowley."

Castiel walks towards him. Bobby and Jamie get up. Jamie gets the book from Sam. "What is it?"

"See for yourself." She goes to hand the book to Castiel. Bobby lights a match and drops it on the floor by Castiel's feet, trapping him in a ring of holy fire. "It's you."

Castiel looks at the fire. "What are you doing?"

"Holy fire, Cas." Jamie mutters.

"Obviously."

"Don't move a damn muscle. I don't need a fried angel." She tells him, moving toward Dean.

"We gotta talk." Dean says.

"About what? Let me go!"

"About Superman. And Kryptonite." Castiel's face twists with guilt at Dean's words.

"How'd you know what I said?" Bobby asks.

Sam nods. "How long you been watching us?"

"You know who spies on people, Cas? Spies." Dean says angrily.

Jamie shakes her head. "You screwed up."

Castiel looks around. "Okay, just wait. I don't even know what you mean."

"What about this demon craphole? How is it so, uh..."Next to godliness" clean in here?" Sam leans against the wall.

"And how exactly did Crowley trick you with the wrong bones?" Bobby asks.

Castiel puts his hands out. "It's hard to understand. It's hard to explain. Just let me go. Let me out and I can –"

Dean crosses his arms. "You got to look at me, man. You got to level with me and tell me what's going on. Look me in the eye and tell me you're not working with Crowley." Castiel looks at Dean, but then looks away. "You son of a bitch."

"He's working with Crowley. He has been for awhile." Jamie looks at her brother.

"Let me explain." Castiel pleads.

"You're in it with him? You and Crowley have been going after Purgatory together? You have, huh? This whole time." Dean looks betrayed.

"I did it to protect you. I did it to protect all of you." Castiel says desperately.

"Protect us how? By opening a hole into monsterland!" Sam demands.

"He's right, Cas." Cas turns to Bobby. "One drop got through, and it was Eve. And you want to break down the entire dam?"

"To get the souls. I can stop Raphael. Please, you have to trust me."

Jamie shakes her head. "Trust you?! How in the hell are we supposed to trust you now?" Sam asks. A tear slides down Jamie's face.

"I'm still me. I'm still your friend. Sam...I'm the one who raised you from perdition."

Sam looks surprised. "What? Well, no offense...But you did a pretty piss-poor job of it. Wait. Did you bring me back soulless...On purpose?"

Cas looks at him. "How could you think that?"

"Well, I'm thinking a lot of things right now, Cas."

Cas sighs and turns to Jamie. "Jamie…Jamie, please, I'm…"He gestures to her stomach. "I'm his father." Jamie puts her hands on her belly and looks away. "Please, what we have…"

Jamie looks at him. "We don't have anything, Castiel. Not anymore." She wipes her eyes. Dean wraps his arm protectively around his sister, holding her against him.

Castiel sighs. "Listen. Raphael will kill us all. He'll turn the world into a graveyard. I had no choice. Jamie, tell them! You've seen it, I know you've seen it."

Jamie shakes her head. "Don't use me to defend yourself. Castiel. You are my guardian angel, you're charged with keeping me safe, you cannot use me and my gift to exonerate yourself. What I have seen means nothing! It does not excuse what you've done! So goes the long road of good intentions. The road that brought you here." She and Castiel share a look.

Dean nods. "You had a choice. You just made the wrong one."

"You don't understand. It's complicated."

"No, actually, it's not, and you know that. Why else would you keep this whole thing a secret, huh, unless you knew that it was wrong? When crap like this comes around, we deal with it... Like we always have. What we don't do is we don't go out and make another deal with the Devil!"

Cas looks away. "It sounds so simple when you say it like that." He looks at Dean. "Where were you when I needed to hear it?"

"I was there. Where were you?" Cas stares at him. "You should have come to us for help."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jamie asks. "We spent a year together, Castiel."

"Maybe." There is a loud sound of wind. A large cloud of demon-smoke approaches_._ "It's too late now. I can't turn back now. I can't."

Jamie sees the demon smoke. "Oh God. Dean…Sam…" She turns for the door.

"It's not too late. Damn it, Cas! We can fix this!" Dean tells him as they go for the door.

"Dean, it's not broken!" He says firmly. "Run. You have to run now! Run!"

Jamie grabs Dean's hand. "Come on." They run out the door.

There's enochian symbols on the windows in Bobby's living room. Jamie is asleep on the couch. Dean is sitting beside her. Castiel appears. Jamie wakes up. Dean gets to his feet. "Hello, Dean."

"How'd you get in here?"

"The angel-proofing on the house," He looks at Jamie. "It wasn't you who did it, was it? It was Bobby, he got a few things wrong."

"Well, it's too bad we got to angel-proof in the first place, isn't it?"

"Dean, can we talk. In private."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Without the prophetess?"

"It's alright, Dean." Jamie gets up and goes into the kitchen.

"Why are you here?"

"I want you to understand."

Dean shakes his head. "Oh, believe me, I get it. Blah, blah, Raphael, right?"

Castiel steps forward. "I'm doing this for you, Dean. I'm doing this because of you."

Dean scoffs, turning away. "Because of me? Yeah. You got to be kidding me."

"You're the one who taught me that freedom and free will-"

Dean turns back to him. "You're a freakin' child, you know that? Just because you can do what you want doesn't mean that you get to do whatever you want!"

"I know what I'm doing, Dean."

"I'm not gonna logic you, okay? I'm saying don't...Just 'cause. I'm asking you not to. That's it."

"I don't understand."

"Look, next to Sam and Jamie, you and Bobby are the closest things I have to family - that you are like a brother to me. So, if I'm asking you not to do something...You got to trust me, man."

Cas looks down. "Or what?"

Dean is speechless for a moment. "Or I'll have to do what I have to do to stop you."

"You can't, Dean. You're just a man. I'm an angel."

"I don't know. I've taken some pretty big fish."

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"Well, I'm sorry, too, then."

Cas stares at him. "Jamie?"

"In the kitchen." She calls. Dean watches as Castiel walks into the kitchen.

"Jamie." Jamie puts the milk down on the table and looks at Castiel. "Jamie, I…"

"So am I. When you gave me wings I thought we'd finally understand each other. I guess I was wrong."

"What happens now? What about our baby?"

Jamie looks down and curls her fist, causing the glass to explode. "You know the difference between you and me?" She looks up at him. He looks shocked. "I know what I am. What are you, Castiel? What exactly are you willing to do?" She flings the glass shards at him and he deflects them. "Do you understand the danger you've put us all in? The danger you put YOUR son in? You promised me that you'd protect him!" She wipes her eyes with an impatient hand. "What happens now? That's up to you." Castiel disappears. Dean walks in. Jamie looks away.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Is it true? Is he the father?"

"Yeah. It's true."

"So your baby is half angel."She nods. Dean reaches out and touches her stomach. "I'll take care of him." He wraps his arms around her from behind, putting his chin on her shoulder. "I'll protect him, Jamie. I'll keep him safe, I promise."


	41. 621 Let it Bleed

The Winchester siblings are all in Bobby's study. Dean sits with a book, not reading it. Sam sits at the table. He leafs through a book. Jamie is standing against the wall with another book. "Well, you know what, at least you tried." Sam tells Dean.

"Yeah, fat lot of good it did. Why did he even come, right?"

Sam shrugs and sighs. He looks at Jamie. "So it was Cas all along?"

Jamie looks up. "It doesn't matter." She rubs her stomach.

Sam gets up. "Yes it does. Your kid is Nephilia."

Dean looks up. "A Nephi-what?" He looks at Sam.

"He is not." Jamie shoots back.

Sam raises an eyebrow. "The child of a son of heaven and a daughter of man."

Jamie smirks. "I'm not a daughter of man; I'm the daughter of a vessel. Difference."

"Jamie."

"He's not a Nephilia!"

"Hey!" Dean yells. "Can we worry about that when the kid is born and focus on Purgatory?" Dean slams the book shut. Jamie shakes her head.

"Well we're not gonna find anything with these." She waves her hand and her book floats unto a nearby pile.

Dean nods. "Yeah, Samuel's journals are pointless. I mean, I'm sorry, but uh, Jebediah Campbell has squat to tell me about how to stop Cas from cracking Purgatory."

Bobby walks in, carrying a large envelope. "And now I know why." Jamie looks at Bobby.

Bobby looks at her. "That mind thing of yours is annoying."

"Tell me about it."

Sam walks over to them. "Uh…let us in on the big secret?"

Bobby looks at the boys. "It's not about the journals we have, it's about the one we don't."

Sam shrugs. "Meaning what?"

"Well, that's the bad news. Our pal Cas didn't stop in last night just to mend fences."

"What did he do?" Dean asks.

Jamie turns to him. "He stole something."

"What?"

"The journal of one Moishe Campbell." Bobby tells them.

"Moishe?" Sam asks.

"Of the New York Campbells."

Jamie looks at her twin. "Our family tree is a little screwed up."

Sam sighs. "Well, uh, so we gotta get it back, right? Jamie do your thing."

Jamie turns to him. "What thing? I can't just magically make it appear."

Bobby holds up the envelope and hands it to Sam. "Or just read the copy I'd already made. Hi, glad to meet you. Bobby Singer. Paranoid bastard."

Jamie smirks. "I love you, Bobby."

Bobby is reading pages of the journal. Jamie gets up and looks over his shoulder. Dean is carrying three mugs. Sam sits at a desk with another book. Outside, a train whistles. "I think I zeroed in on something."

Dean walks over to him. "What do you got?" Bobby hands him the page.

Jamie looks at her brother. "Dean, let go."

He doesn't look up. "Of what?"

Jamie holds her hand out and one of the mugs flies into her hand. "The mug." She takes a sip.

Dean walks towards Sam, reading from the journal. "Went to talk to Howard Phillips about the events of March 10th." He hands him a mug and sits on the desk.

"That's March 10th, 1937." Bobby tells him.

"Alright. So who's this Phillips guy?"

"Phillips ain't his last name."

Jamie looks at Sam. "It's Lovecraft."

"Wait, H.P. Lovecraft?" Jamie nods. "Let me see that." Dean gives him the paper.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?"

Bobby looks surprised that Dean doesn't know. "Horror writer. At the Mountains Of Madness, The Call of Cthulu?"

Dean chuckles. "Yeah, it's - no, I'm - I was too busy having sex with women."

Jamie takes another drink. "You're impossible."

Bobby rolls his eyes. "Well, anyhow. There's one notion that comes up over and over again in his stories. Namely opening doors to other dimensions and letting scary crap through."

Jamie looks at Dean. "Three guesses what his inspiration was."

"You don't say." Dean mutters.

Sam looks at Bobby. "Wait, so you're saying you think Lovecraft knew something about Purgatory?"

Bobby looks at him. "All I know is Moishe paid him a visit."

Dean is sitting on the couch reading the copied journal. Jamie is curled up beside him, reading from another book. She jolts up and grips Dean's shoulder, "Dean. Dean."

Dean cringes. "Ow. Jamie, nails. What is it?" He looks at her. Dean's phone goes off. Jamie lets go of his shoulder. Dean picks up his phone and answers. "Ben?"

"There's men in the house."

"What?"

"They killed Matt. They got Mom. They're coming, I hear them."

"What are they?"

"I - I don't know."

"Did you see their eyes?"

"No."

"Teeth?"

"No."

"This is important Ben, I need to know."

"Dean, I don't know."

"Okay, where are you now?"

Sam and Bobby look up. Jamie gets up and goes over to Sam. He holds his arms out for her.

"In my room."

"Can you get to your mom's closet? I left a shotgun in there."

"No. Dean, what do I do?"

"Okay, Ben, listen to me. Go to your window and jump."

"What?!"

"Any bones you break won't compare to what they're gonna do to you, Ben. You've got to jump."

"Okay, I'm going."

"I'm coming right now. I'm coming to get you and your mom, I promise. You with me, Ben? Ben?" There's no answer. "Ben?" Dean looks at his phone.

Jamie holds her stomach. "Crowley." Dean and Sam look at her.

"Hello, Dean. " Hearing Crowley, Dean quickly puts his phone back to his ear. "Fancy a chat? God, how long's it been, Dean? Since my so-called demise, yes?"

Dean stands up. "Crowley, let 'em go _now_, or I swear..."

"Right, right. You'll rip me a cornucopia of orifices. Let's get to the bit where I tell you how this goes. Your chocolate's been in my peanut butter for far too long."

"I am going to kill you."

"Oh Dean, ever the wit. I've got your uh, oh what are they? Ex lady friend and not-kid, and I'm keeping them until I'm satisfied that you've backed the hell off!"

"I'm telling you, last chance to let 'em go easy."

"You're adorable when you get all threatening. Don't worry, I won't hurt them. Provided you, the not so virgin Mary, and Jolly Green stand down. Got it? Splendid. Kisses." Crowley hangs up. Dean glares at his phone.

"What's the story?" Bobby asks.

Dean looks down. "He said Lisa and Ben keep breathing as long as we sit on our thumbs."

Sam sighs. "You think Cas knows about this?"

Jamie is pacing back and forth.

"We gotta assume he does."

"So what are we gonna do?"

Jamie looks up. "We don't have much of a choice."

Dean sighs. "I'll tell you what we're not gonna do: sit here. I'm going after 'em."

Sam nods. "I'm coming with."

Dean stops him. "No, Sam. You Jamie and Bobby stay on the Lovecraft thing, okay? Cas is already way ahead of us."

Jamie steps forward. "Dean, no. You need us."

Dean turns to his sister. "Jamie, you could go into labor any time now. And then what?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. Sam turns to Dean. "You gotta be nuts if you think I'm gonna let you do this alone. Bobby and Jamie can take care of the case."

Bobby stands up. "No, guys."

"Guys, this is a big ball, okay? We can't drop it now."

Jamie nods. "Alright. You and Sam go; I'll stay here and Bobby will take Lovecraft.

"Fine. But how are you gonna find Lisa and Ben?"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie look at each other.

Bobby drives off leaving Sam, Jamie, and Dean in the yard. Jamie mixes the ingredients to summon Balthazar on top of a car. Dean lights a match and drops it in. The lights go out and Balthazar appears, a drink in his hand. "I'm sorry boys, do I look like a man-servant to you? No? No? Then quit ringing for me, please." Jamie steps into view from behind Dean and Sam. "Well, well, well. Hello Jamie. You're looking…ripe. That due date should be any day now, correct?"

"Shut up."

"Oh."

Dean steps forward. "This is important, Balthazar."

"I was drinking '75 Dom out of a soprano's navel when you called. _That_ was important."

"Crowley's alive." Sam nods.

Balthazar takes a drink. "Well you've been scooped. Cas already told me."

Jamie nods. "Of course he did. But nothing else."

"Well did Cas tell you that he is Crowley's butt-buddy, you smug little dick?" Dean demands.

"Excuse me?"

"Handshake deal. Go halfsies on all the souls of Purgatory. He fill you in on that?" Sam continues.

"Well, yes, yes. Yes, of course he did. Yes." Balthazar is clearly lying.

Sam snickers. "Oh, yes, of course. I - I - we can read it all over your face."

Jamie looks amused. "Liar." She crosses her arms.

Dean steps forward. "Look, Crowley and Cas took two people who are very important to me."

Balthazar turns to him. "And I care about this because?"

"Because maybe there is a shred of decency underneath this - this snarky crap." Balthazar sips his drink. "They're innocent people and I'm asking for your help."

"Hmmm. I see. Fair enough." Balthazar disappears.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean yells.

Jamie looks up at the sky. "Balthazar! Don't make me pull out the prophet crap!"

Sam moves her aside. "Jamie, no. Look, Dean. Let's just call Cas. Maybe he doesn't know anything about this."

Jamie turns to him. "No."

Dean looks at him. "We are not calling Cas."

"Yeah, but Dean."

"We're not calling Cas!"

Sam sighs. "So what then?"

Jamie and Dean share a look.

Bobby is on the phone with Jamie. He is walking down the street. Jamie is outside at the yard with Sam beside her. "Lovecraft tried to jimmy a damn dimensional door. Idjit." Bobby tells her.

"So what happened?" Jamie asks, holding the phone so Sam can hear.

"Well, nothing much. Except, I dug, and every guest invited to the hoedown, dead or disappeared inside a year."

"Wow, um, so where are you off to now?" Sam asks.

"Have a chat with one of the guests."

"Wait, didn't you just say that everyone there died?"

Jamie hits Sam lightly. "Pay attention. Everybody Lovecraft invited died. I'm betting he wasn't invited by Lovecraft. Right Bobby?"

"Yeah. Seems the maid had a nine year old boy. He was there."

Sam does mental math. "So, he'd be what, 83 years old now? Where is he?"

"Same place he's been ever since the big night. Locked in a mental ward."

Jamie nods. "Of course." A fight can be heard inside the garage behind Sam and Jamie.

"Well, keep us posted, huh?" Sam says.

"Okay, stay in touch. How's things going there? You got a lead on Lisa and Ben?"

Sam glances behind him. "Well, um, we're making a few inquiries."

"Dean's ganking demons." Jamie mutters.

"Jamie!"

"What did you say?"

"I said it's slow going." Jamie and Sam hear screaming.

"How's Dean?" Bobby asks.

"About how you'd expect." Jamie says. "See ya Bobby."

"Yeah." They hang up.

Sam looks at Jamie and then glances at the door. "I'm gonna go in. You alright out here?"

"I'm not going to randomly go into labor, okay? Go make sure Dean hasn't lost his marbles."

Jamie is still standing outside. Sam walks out and they share a look. Jamie looks away and then looks back at him. He's still staring at her. She shakes her head. "No!" He sighs. She scoffs. "You do it." She walks away.

Sam closes his eyes. "Castiel, it's Sam. Um, so look, I don't know if you're in on this whole Ben-Lisa thing, but if you have any heart whatsoever, bring 'em back to us, man. C'mon. Please. I'm begging you. I am begging you, do you understand?" Sam looks around. Nothing.

"See?" Jamie tells him. He scoffs and shakes his head. Jamie frowns. As they walk away, Castiel is standing next to Sam, unseen. Jamie stops and looks in his direction before following Sam.

Sam sighs. Jamie is sitting at the table in the kitchen, her face buried in a book. Sam walks though the kitchen and pours himself a drink. Jamie looks over at him. Balthazar appears. "Drinking your feelings, Sam? I thought that was your brother's bag."

Sam looks down. "Stressful times."

Jamie looks at the angel. "Why are you here, Balthazar?"

"We need to talk."

"Why?"

"Because - I know I'm gonna live to regret this - but I'm officially on your team. You bastards." Jamie clears her throat. "Sorry, forgot there was a whore present."

Jamie smirks. "Angel whore, thank you." Jamie gets up to go get Dean.

"And we should believe you why?" Dean asks, crossing his arms.

"Would you believe I had a shred of decency?"

Jamie snickers.

"No." Sam says immediately.

"Oh. That hurts." Sam raises his eyebrows. "Okay, you're right. It's survival. You see, I asked Cas some questions and I disliked his answers. He seems awfully sure of himself for a man who wants to swallow a million nuclear reactors. I mean, these things can get a bit Chernobyl, you know? So, voilà. Consider me your double agent. Oh, and I took the liberty of searching for your friends. Uh, took a while. Crowley's a clever one."

Dean stares at him. "You found them?"

"Well, the upside is yes, uh, the downside is no, I can't get them for you."

"Why not?"

Jamie looks at Sam. "Angel-proofed."

Balthazar nods. "Indeed, the whole bloody building. I guess he doesn't trust Cas. Seems that marriage is going swimmingly."

Dean nods. "Okay, well get us as close as you can."

Balthazar nods. "Sure. But then you're on your own." He gestures to them.

Sam gets up. "Wait. Jamie can't go."

Balthazar turns to her. "Oh right. Cassie's little bun in the oven." He gestures to Jamie's stomach. Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Yes he told me."

Jamie tries not to look worried. "Who else knows?"

Balthazar shakes his head. "Not many, yet."

"Does Crowley know?"

"I couldn't say."

"Alright." Dean points to Jamie. "Then you have to watch her, Balthazar."

Jamie protests. "I don't need Balthazar to baby-sit me."

Dean turns to her. "No you need someone here in case you go into labor, and you need an angel to protect you and that baby, and since Cas isn't doing the job…"

Jamie sighs, not wanting to hear more. "Just go." Balthazar is about to teleport them. "Dean." She tosses Dean Ruby's knife.

Balthazar pops back in after taking Dean and Sam. Jamie is laying on the couch. He turns around and leans against the door frame. "I won't stay if you don't want me too."

Jamie glances at him. "I'm surprised you came back at all."

He walks in and leans against against the desk, looking at her. "You know I suspected from the beginning that you and Cas got a little too close. But I never thought this would be the result."

Jamie scoffs. "What, you didn't think the virgin angel had it in him?"

"Ooh." He smirks.

"I guess I couldn't lie about Dean being the father forever."

Balthazar scoffs. "Might be difficult when your son is born in white light and with angel powers." Jamie raises an eyebrow and looks away. "He's so strong, you know? I can feel it just radiating out."

"He's not going to have all his powers all at once is he?"

"Oh no. He'll dabble with them through childhood, but they won't be spectacular till he's ready to impress the ladies." Jamie laughs. "You laugh now. Wait 16-17 years."

"Have you met my brother, Dean?"

"Point taken."

"Am I going to be able to survive the birth?" Jamie asks seriously. Balthazar looks at her for a moment and then walks over and takes her hand.

"My dear. There is more to you than meets the eye, and that is the answer to the riddle."

Dean carries Lisa towards the stairs. Ben follows with the shotgun. A demon rushes down the stairs. "Ben!" Just as Ben aims, a shot goes off and the demon drops to the ground, Jamie hurries down the stairs holding her own shotgun. "Jamie?" Dean asks.

"Need some help?" Another demon comes up behind Jamie and grabs unto her arms, twists them behind her. "Ugh!"

"Jamie! Ben, shoot it." Jamie twists around and Ben shoots the demon in the back. Jamie punches him so that he falls off her. She and Dean share a look and then turn to Ben. "Ben? Ben!" Ben is staring at the demon.

"Dean –"

"Come on, pull it together, do you want your mom to die? Let's go."

Jamie claps Ben on the shoulder. "Come on, kid, come on." She goes to Dean. "We gotta get Sam. This way." Jamie leads them down the hall. They walk farther. Two more demons catch them. Jamie and Ben raise their shotguns and shoot. They walk down the stairs and hear pounding on a door. "Sam?"

"Dean!" Sam yells from inside the room.

"Sam?"

Jamie points to the door. "There. He's locked in."

"I'm in here!" Dean starts to put Lisa down but Jamie stops him. She pushes Ben back and motions for Dean to step back. She waves her hand and the door slides away. Sam comes out. "Jamie?"

Jamie nods over her shoulder. "Lisa is hurt. Come on."

"Come on, we gotta get to a hospital. Ben, give the gun to him. Sam, Jamie, we need a ride."

Ben gives Sam the gun. Jamie leads them out of the building, Dean follows with Lisa, then Ben, and Sam is last looking around with the gun.

Outside the building Sam pulls up in a car he's stolen, Jamie is in the backseat. She kicks open the door for Dean. "Here."

"Go, go, go, go."Dean says to Ben. He gets in shotgun. Jamie gets Dean get Lisa in the backseat. She pulls bandages out of the med kit. Dean looks at Lisa's blood on his hand. Jamie gives him a wide-eyed look, as she hands him clean gauze. Ben turns around, worried. "She's fine, Ben. She's fine. She's gonna be just fine. Almost there." He whispers to Lisa. "Hey, hey. Stay with me." He looks up. "Sam, you gotta go faster, man!"

Sam looks back at them. "Sam." Jamie says grimly. Ben turns around and looks at them again. "Ben, face forward! Now." Jamie tells him.

Dean talks to Lisa. "You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be just fine."

Lisa is lying unconscious in her hospital bed. She is hooked up to several breathing tubes and monitors. Dean and Ben sit on either side of the bed. Dean looks at Ben. "Ben, I'm sorry." Ben gets up and goes to the door. "Ben."

Castiel appears. Jamie walks in front the hall. "Cas." She mutters.

Dean looks over and sees him there. He scowls. "What do _you_ want?"

"Dean, listen."

He shakes his head. "What do you want me to say? She'll be dead by midnight."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't care. It's too little, too late."

Cas sighs. "Okay. Well, regardless, I didn't come for you."

Dean looks at him. "Meaning?"

Cas walks up to Lisa and places his hand on her forehead, healing her. He turns to Dean. "She's fine now. She'll wake soon. Dean, I said I'm sorry and I meant it." He glances back at Jamie. Jamie looks away.

"Thank you. I wish this changed anything." Dean is visibly upset.

"I know. So do I. All else aside, I just wanted to fix what I could." Castiel walks towards Jamie. She looks up at him. He leans down and they kiss. She pulls away and smacks him across the face, tears in her eyes. She goes outside. Castiel turns and looks at Dean.

"There's one more thing you could do for me."

Soon afterwards, Lisa wakes up. Ben is sitting on her hospital bed. "Hey, Mom."

"Hey. What - ?"

"You're in the hospital."

Outside the room, Dean walks up to the door and watches.

"What happened?"

"We were in a car crash."

"Are you okay?" She asks her son, concerned.

"Y - Yeah, I'm - I'm fine. You hit your head pretty bad, but you're okay now."

Dean knocks and takes a step inside. "Hi."

Lisa raises her eyebrows, not recognizing him.

"Who're you?" Ben asks.

Dean looks sheepish. "I, I'm Dean. Uh, I'm the guy who hit you."

"Oh." Lisa says softly.

"I just, uh, I lost control for a minute, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Dean?" Jamie walks over to him, her hands on her belly. "What are you doing in here?"

Dean looks at her questioningly. "Uh…hi honey."

Lisa looks at Dean. "Is this your wife?"

Dean pauses. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, she is."

Lisa smiles. "Your first baby?"

"Yeah." He reaches over and puts his hand on Jamie's stomach. Jamie smiles and puts her hands on Dean's. He looks back at Lisa and Ben. "I um…I'm real happy you two are both okay. And uh, I'm just - I'm glad your life can get back to normal now." He tries to smile.

Lisa gives him a smile. "We're okay, so - so that's what's important, right?"

Dean nods. "Yeah. Anyway, uh, we'll leave you two alone." He points at Ben and then points to Lisa. "You take care of your mom."

Ben nods. Jamie waves goodbye to Lisa who waves back. Dean and Jamie walk away, and then stop once Lisa and Ben can no longer see them. Jamie frowns and looks up at Dean whose fighting back tears. She pulls him into a hug.

Dean and Jamie walk down the stairs and across the street to the Impala. Sam is standing on the other side of the car waiting for them. "Well?"

"Well nothing." Dean opens Jamie's door for her and then gets in the car. Sam looks at Jamie and they get in the car as well.

Sam sighs. "Dean, you know, you've pulled some shady crap before, but this –" he shakes his head. "- has got to be the worst." He scoffs. "Whitewashing their memories? Take it from somebody who knows –"

Dean turns sharply to him. "If you ever mention Lisa and Ben to me again, I will break your nose."

"Dean."

"Sam." Jamie grabs Sam's shoulder. "Stop."

"I'm not kidding." He glances back. "You too, Jamie." Sam is about to protest, but Dean looks at him and he sees the tears in Dean's eyes, so he nods. Jamie frowns and sits back. Sam closes his door and they drive off.


	42. 622 The Man Who Knew Too Much

Sam, Jamie, Bobby and Dean are walking down an alley. Jamie has a hand on her stomach. "Jamie?" Sam looks at her.

Dean and Bobby stop and turn to her. "Okay, that's the 5th one in the last hour. I'm calling that labor. You're going home." Dean says.

Jamie gives him a look. "We have to get El." She rubs her stomach. "It's over. Just, just help me out of this jacket." Dean pulls her black canvas off. She's only wearing a green spaghetti strap top underneath. After a moment she shivers. "Okay, put it back on." Dean puts it back over her shoulders.

Dean looks at Bobby. "We got to get her home. Where is she?"

Bobby shrugs. "She said to meet her here. I'll try her again."

Jamie looks up. "She's hurt."

Bobby turns to her. "What?"

"I can feel it." She nods towards an alley. "That way." Bobby looks at her and then takes out his cellphone and dials. They hear Eleanor's phone ringing from nearby. It's on the ground next to a dumpster. They hurry to it and find Eleanor sitting on the ground against the dumpster. She is indeed hurt. Bobby kneels in front of her. Sam and Dean stand behind him, with Jamie between them.

"El?"

She opens her eyes. "Hey. I guess I could've used your help after all."

"Just be still."

"What happened?" Sam asks.

"They took me. I got away." She opens her coat. Her shirt is soaked with blood by her stomach.

Jamie puts her hand to her mouth. "Oh God."

Bobby looks distressed. "Oh, Ellie. What have they done to you?"

She chuckles. "Everything. The demon I could've handled, but when the angel stepped in, I –" She sighs. "I told him, Bobby. They have enough to crack Purgatory wide open."

"Tell me. I need to know."

"They need virgin blood. That's a milk-run for them. And they need the blood of a Purgatory native, and well, they've got plenty of that now."

Dean looks at her. "Have they opened it yet?"

She shakes her head. "Tomorrow. The moon - an eclipse. I'm sorry, Bobby."

"No, it's okay. It's okay."

"I'm sorry, really sorr-"

"Tell us where they are." Eleanor dies. "El?" Bobby closes her eyes. Castiel appears behind Sam, Jamie, and Dean.

"Castiel." Jamie says without turning around. Dean and Sam turn.

"I'm sorry this had to happen." Bobby stands up. "Crowley got carried away."

"Yeah, I bet it was all Crowley you son of a bitch!" He tries to go after Castiel but Sam and Dean restrain him and he steps back beside Jamie.

Jamie looks at him. "Castiel, how could you?"

"You don't even see it, do you? How totally off the rails you are!" Dean tells him.

"Enough! I don't care what you think. I've tried to make you understand. You won't listen. So let me make this simple. _Please_, go home and let me stop Raphael. I won't ask again."

Dean stiffens. "Well, good, 'cause I think you already know the answer."

Cas shakes his head. "I wish it hadn't come to this. Well rest assured, when this is all over, I will save Sam, but only if you stand down."

"Save Sam from what?"

"No! Cas, no!" Jamie goes for him, Dean grabs her. Castiel disappears. He reappears behind Sam and touches Sam's temple, breaking the wall in Sam's mind. Sam collapses unconscious. Jamie grabs her stomach and groans, hitting the ground. Bobby looks at Dean who falls to his knees between his siblings.

"Sam?"

"Sammy? Come on, snap out of it."

Sam is unconscious on the bed in the panic room. Jamie and Dean watch over him.

_Play With Fire_ by The Rolling Stones plays on the radio. Sam is unconscious on the bed. Jamie is sitting down in the chair beside him with her eyes closed, her hands on either side of Sam's head. Dean paces with his arms crossed. Bobby walks in. "Anything?"

"No." Jamie says without opening her eyes.

Dean looks at him. "I can't just sit here, Bobby. I've got to help him."

"Dean."

"You know, dreamscape his noggin. Something."

"I thought that's what I was doing." Jamie mutters. Dean looks at her, but she has her eyes closed.

Bobby looks at Dean. "You know what Cas did. The dam inside your brother's head is gone, and all hell's spilling loose. We don't know what's going on inside."

"I don't care. We have got to do something!"

"And we will, but right now we got sixteen hours 'til they pop Purgatory. I'm down one man and my angel/demon specialist is about to pop. I can't afford to lose you too."

"Yeah, and how's that going, huh? We've got no line on Crowley. We got no line on Cas. Balthazar's MIA. Jamie is in labor! I mean, all we've got is Sam, going through whatever the hell this is!"

"Will you both shut up?" Jamie opens her eyes and then winces, grabbing her stomach.

Dean looks at her. "Jamie, are you okay?" He goes over and helps her stand up. "I got you." He holds her with one arm and rubs his fist against her back with the other. "Okay?"

She sucks her breath in. "No. I'm not okay." She looks at him. "I can't get in, Dean. I can't get in to find him."

"You know." Bobby turns a glass over and pours a drink. "This is exactly what Cas wants. For you to fall to pieces. Just try to think of what Sam would want." He holds out the drink. Dean pauses before taking it. "Sorry Jamie." He mutters.

Jamie waves it off, turning to Dean. "He's right. Cas thinks he knows you."

Dean takes a drink and sighs. "Find Cas, Bobby. Find him now."

Dean sits near Sam, a glass of whisky in his hand. "Dean."

"Look what the cat dragged in."

Jamie and Bobby are standing with Balthazar outside the door of the Panic Room. Dean gets up. Balthazar looks in on the room. "Well, at least you mudfish finally got the angel-proofing right." He points to Sam. "How's Sleeping Beauty? You didn't steal any kisses, I trust?"

"What the hell took you so long?" He walks up to Balthazar. Bobby stands a step behind Dean. "Jamie, try again to get into Sam's head." Jamie nods and goes into the panic room. She sits next to Sam.

"Honestly? I was having second thoughts." Balthazar tells him.

"About?"

"About whether to help you. I was thinking maybe... Maybe I should rip out your sticky bits instead."

"And what did you decide?" Bobby asks.

"Well... "He pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to Dean. "Cas and Crowley are there. That's where the show gets started."

Dean opens the paper and shows Bobby. On it is an address in Bootback, Kansas. "Alright, well give us a minute to pack up and then zap us there."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. I don't think so."

Dean looks up. "Balthazar."

"I'm betraying a friend here. A very powerful friend. We all are. So I think I've stuck my neck out far enough already. Good luck." He disappears.

Dean looks up and then turns around. "Jamie?"

Jamie has her hands on the side of Sam's head. Her eyes are squeezed shut. "The song remains the same." She opens her eyes. "I can't get in. Whatever is going on with Sammy…he's gonna have to go through it without our help." She grabs her stomach. "Ahh!" Her stomach moves with the contraction. She grabs the table and doubles over.

"Jamie." Dean grabs her and starts rubbing her back. She grabs unto him. "Shh. Okay." He rubs harder against her back with his fist. "Breath."

She gasps for breath. After a few moments she straightens back up. "They're getting too close together."

Bobby is packing some things, including a flask of holy water and two angel killing swords, in a bag. He takes the bag and starts to walk out. "Dean."

Jamie walks in wearing one of Dean's t-shirts and jeans. She's got a bag over her shoulder. Bobby and Dean look at her. "You're not going, Jamie." Dean tells her.

"Like hell." She shoots back.

"No. No way. You're in labor."

As if on cue she starts having another contraction. Dean watches her stomach move. Jamie sucks her breath in painfully."My water hasn't broken yet. This can wait." She gestures to her stomach. "I'll suck up the pain as long as I can." She says through gritted teeth.

Dean shakes his head. "No. That's final. You're staying here."

Jamie looks at Bobby. "You know better than to argue with him." Jamie glares and tosses her bag on the floor. Bobby sighs. "Time's up, Dean."

"Yeah, just a second." Dean is standing over Sam. He kneels next to him with a piece of paper. "Alright, this is where we're gonna be, Sam. You get your lazy ass out of bed and come and meet us. Sammy, please." He gets up, puts the paper down next to Sam with a gun on top of it, and goes to Jamie.

"I'll be back for you, okay?" He wraps his arms around her. She nods.

"Dean just get the job done. Don't worry about me." She tells him. He nods. She hands him her bag.

Not long after they leave, Sam starts convulsing. Jamie is sitting against the wall. She gets up and hurries over to her twin. "Sam?" She holds his shoulders down. "Sam!" She grabs his head and squeezes her eyes shut. "Sam?" She looks around. She's standing in Bobby's living room and it's dark. Sam is standing in front of her holding a knife. He slowly turns to see her.

"Jamie?" He falls towards her. She grabs unto him.

"Come on." She tells him. "We gotta go."

Jamie opens her eyes. Sam has stopped convulsing. He stares up at her. "Jamie?"

She closes her eyes, holding her stomach. "Ugh." She moans in reply, leaning against the bed.

"Jamie." Sam grabs her shoulders. "What?"

"My water broke." She tells him quietly. His eyes widen. "No. No. Sam. You have to go." She gestures with her fingers and the paper and the gun float in front of him. He picks them up. "Go help Dean and Bobby stop Cas."

"Jamie, you need help." He tells her.

Jamie laughs painfully, and winces as she gets another contraction. She grabs his arm and tears fall down her face. "No, You have to go, Sam. Raphael and Crowley have joined forces. Dean and Bobby need you. The world needs you." He stares at her. "I'll be fine. Go! Now."

Sam nods, getting out of bed. He hurries out. Jamie closes her eyes and cringes in pain. She walks forward, grabbing unto everything in reach. She makes it as far as the couch in the study.

As time goes on the pain only gets worse. Jamie rolls unto the floor and curls up, screaming in pain. "Castiel you son of a bitch! You son of a bitch, you promised you would protect us and look what you did to us!" She cries out. "God, I can't do this. I can't." Suddenly she sees two hazy figures. They take the forms of John and Mary. "Mom? Dad?" She asks in disbelief.

"Shh. Hang on, baby." Mary kneels down next to her and takes her hand.

"I've got you, Jamie." John kneels down on the other side of her and holds her shoulder.

She stares up at them, her vision growing blurry. "I'm dying." She mutters.


	43. 701 Meet the New Boss

"I'm dying." Jamie mutters. "That's why you're here."

"No. You're going to fight this, Jamie." John tells her. "You're strong."

"You can do this, baby. It's alright." Mary brushes her hand over Jamie's cheek. "Your son needs you." Jamie cries out in pain again. She's sweating. A contraction rips through her body and she convulses. "John." Mary whispers.

"Jamie. Keep your eyes open, honey." John squeezes her shoulders. Mary moves Jamie into her lap. John moves down and puts his hands on her stomach. She moans as he feels her stomach."He's dropped, but his head isn't down." He looks up at Mary in concern.

"He's breech?" Jamie asks. John nods. She sobs from the pain, opening her eyes and looking at her father. "What…what can you do?"

John stares down at his daughter for a moment. "I'm going to make sure you're both fine."

She nods. "Yes, sir. Mom?" She stares up at Mary, who continues to stroke her cheek. "Mom, I want Dean."

"Shh…I know." Jamie gasps out loud.

Bobby and Dean walk into the house just then, both supporting Sam who's unconscious. Dean stops short seeing John and Mary. "What the hell?" He asks. Bobby stops.

"Dean. Bobby." John looks up. He quickly gets up.

"Sam." Mary says sadly, seeing her younger son unconscious.

Dean pulls out his gun. "Get the hell away from my sister."

"Dean." Jamie moans in pain, grabbing unto Mary. "Dean, it's them." She gasps out in pain, squeezing her eyes shut. Mary holds unto her daughter. "Mom." She cries.

"Jamie." Dean stares at his sister. "Oh god." He turns his gaze to the figure of his father.

John holds Dean's gaze for a moment. "She's doesn't have much time, son. If we don't get this baby out, they're both going to die. Either come over here and help me, or leave."

"Okay." Bobby turns his attention to Dean. "I'll take Sam down to the panic room. You help your sister."

"Sam." Mary says again, softly this time, as Bobby drags him past her. Dean walks over still a little apprehensive and kneels down at Jamie's side. "Hi son." Mary says softly to Dean.

"Hi Mom." He tries to smile at her and then turns to John. "We should get her get upstairs into bed."

"No." Jamie groans. "It's too hot upstairs. Get me up." She whines. Mary and Dean grab her hands and pull her up. She shakes. "Get this off me." She grits her teeth in pain, trying to shrug out of Dean's jacket. Dean helps her out of her jacket. She has another contraction and falls forward. Dean holds her and starts rubbing her back. "Uh! Okay, I want the bed."

"Okay, upstairs we go."

"No. Downstairs. The panic room."

"We just put Sam in the panic room."

"What's wrong with S-oh oh oh." She buries her face in Dean's shoulder and cries. Dean shoves his fist against her back.

"Bring er down. I got a spare cot around here somewhere!" Bobby yells.

"I got her, Dean. You get a stack of towels, a bottle of whiskey, and the med kit." John scoops his daughter into his arms and carries her down to the basement.

"Here, let me carry those." Mary takes the towels from Dean as he rushes to the kitchen for the whiskey. He grabs the med kit on his way to the basement.

In the panic room John lies Jamie down on a mattress on the floor. Sam is still unconscious in the other cot. Bobby takes the towels from Mary. "Pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am." Mary smiles, just as Jamie convulses. "Jamie? Aww damn. I was hoping this would go smoothly for you." Bobby tells her holding her till she stops shaking. He moves out of the way so Dean can take over.

"Dean." Jamie groans, reaching for the hem of her…well Dean's, shirt.

Dean holds unto his sister and pulls the shirt off her, leaving her in just a maternity tank top. He pulls off her boots and moves on to her jeans. He stops and looks at her. "Maybe Mom should…"

"I'm about to give birth in front of you, Dad, and Bobby." She shoots back, and he is relived that she's still acting like herself. "Just get this off me."

"Are you wearing my boxers?" He asks, grabbing the sheet and throwing it over her lap once he has her jeans off.

"Y-AHH!" She grabs his hands and cries out in pain. "Ow. Ow. God Damnit!" Fresh tears spill down her face.

"Okay. Okay. Wow, Sam's really unconscious." Dean says, glancing over at his brother as he holds his sister.

"Oh! Oh god, he's coming."

"Okay, out of the way, boy." John pushes Dean to one side, and kneels down in front of Jamie. "Ah. Damnit. I was hoping he'd turn with that last contraction." John curses and then looks up at Dean and Jamie. "She's gonna deliver breech."

"Is that safe?" Dean whispers. John looks at him. After a moment Dean nods. "What should I do?"

"Get behind Jamie and hold her up." Dean stands behind his sister and loops his arms underneath hers. Bobby pours whiskey over John's hands. "Jamie, I need you to push, baby."

"I'm exhausted Dad, I don't know if I can." Mary uses one of the towels to wipe the sweat coating Jamie's face and neck.

"Listen to me, girl, you have to do this." Jamie moans in discomfort, not able to hold her father's gaze. "Hey! Look at me, Jamie. You have to do this."

"Yes sir." Jamie replies. She glances over at Bobby. Bobby follows her eyes and picks up the whiskey bottle. Jamie coughs down the alcohol. "Oh god." She grabs unto the side of the bed. "Oh god!"

"Push, baby." Mary tells her, wiping her face again. She grabs unto one knee and motions for Bobby to hold the other.

Dean holds her tightly from behind, rubbing her ribs. She collapses against him, her sight blurry from the pain. "I've got ya, Jamie. I've got ya and I'm never going to let you go."

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Dean, promise me you'll protect him." More tears cascade down her face as she looks up at her brother, her eyes glazed over.

"Hey, you're gonna be fine." Dean leaned in and kissed his sister's forehead. "You're gonna be alright."

"John?" Bobby questions looking at the dead hunter. Jamie cries out in pain with the next contraction.

"He's coming. Jamie keep pushing, I've almost got him." Jamie screamed, her knuckles white with the grip she had on the frame of the bed. Around them various objects levitate, Bobby whirled around and raised an eyebrow. Suddenly everything fell back down with a crash.

"Dad?" Blood and fluid gushed everywhere coating John's arms. Dean looked down at Jamie and saw she was turning deathly pale. "Jamie? Dad, she's losing way too much blood."

"Yeah, I know." Came John's response. "Jamie, I need one last push." He stared up at his daughter and she swallowed, raising her head up weakly. Dean held her, his face twisted with worry.

"It's going to be alright, son. Look." Mary told him. A white light suddenly appeared below them. His father was pulling something out. White light radiated around his hands as he did so, and Dean realized wherever the light touched it healed Jamie. Within a second most of the bleeding had disappeared.

"My god." Bobby muttered, watching.

"He's here." John said, pulling the baby all the way out. Bobby handed him a suction bulb, and almost immediately the baby began to cry. "He's fine, Jamie."

"Mark." Jamie whispers, holding her arms out, weakly. Mary reached over and grabbed one of the towels, handing it to John. The old hunter wrapped the baby in it and handed him to Jamie. Dean cradled his sister's arms in his own, looking down at the child still radiating with light. As it began to fade it revealed one of the most beautiful babies he'd ever seen. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue, like Castiel's vessel, and his hair was dark and thick. Though, Dean swore the kid had his nose. Jamie smiled weakly. "Marcus." She looked up at her father and Bobby. "Marcus Robert John Winchester." She glances over her shoulder at Dean, who nods approvingly. Jamie bent forward and kissed his forehead. "Dean, take him." She whispered, pulling back. Her eyes were glassy and hallow.

"Jamie?" He gently plucked the baby from her arms, only to have her pass out into John's arms. "Jamie!" Bobby moved her back unto the bed.

"She'll be alright, Dean. She just needs to rest." His mother reassured him.

"Ahh, good thing that kid is half angel, he healed her. She's not bleeding anymore." His father said, cleaning his hands. "She's fine, Dean. Just exhausted." John threw a blanket over his daughter.

Dean was standing in the middle of the room with his mother beside him, both of them looking at the baby in his arms. "He's so beautiful, Mom." He looks up at his mother. "Mark." He whispers the name Jamie had given him. Mary nods, and then crosses the room to where Sam is still unconscious.

"Hey Mark." John said, walking over to them. He bent over to look at the baby. "He looks like you." He glanced up at his eldest son. Dean nodded. "And he needs you."

"He's got that deadbeat angel's eyes." Bobby commented gruffly from across the room where he was checking on Sam. Mary and John looked at each other, but said nothing. "Anyway, now that Jamie and her kid are alright, you mind telling me how the hell you two are standing here?"

"God sent us." John said after a moment.

"I'm sorry, what?" Dean asked, staring at his parents in disbelief.

"Not every day does a prophet give birth to a half angel. God sent us down to make sure Jamie and her baby were safe." Mary explained. "But unfortunately, this…these forms…they're only temporary."

Dean and Bobby looked at each other and shrugged. "And unfortunately I think it's time we got back to heaven." John gestured to his wife.

Mary frowned."Oh but John, Sam is-"

"Not the child we were sent to help." He looked at Dean. "I'm sorry."

Dean nodded. Too much was going on for him to be angry, or even fully comprehend what was happening. He had almost forgotten about Castiel and Sam. Mary got up and wrapped her arms around her oldest child. "I love you, Dean."

"I love you too, Mom."

"Oh." She kissed the baby in Dean's arms, smoothing some of his hair away from his face. "I love you, Mark."

She pulled back and John clasped his son on the shoulder. "Take of your brother and sister. We're watching over you." Dean nodded. "Bobby." The old hunters smirked at each other, and Bobby held a hand up in farewell. John and Mary stepped back and a second later they were gone.

Dean looked down at Jamie's son and then at Bobby. "What the hell just happened, Bobby?"

"Beats the hell outta me." Bobby looked down at the baby. "Well he's definitely got your nose."

A while later, Jamie is now dressed in sweat pants and a tank top and curled up on the couch in the study. She opens her eyes and looks down at Dean whose nodded off his head rested against the couch. "Dean?" Dean opens his eyes and looks at her. He smiles.

"Hey. You feeling any better?" Dean helps her sit up. She touches her stomach.

"Yeah. Thanks." Jamie looks down at her baby, sleeping in a carrier that looks brand new. He's now wearing a blue and green sleeper that looks a little big and is wrapped in a soft blue blanket. "How is he?"

"He's fine. He's slept most of the day. I ran out and got that fake milk crap and fed him. He really doesn't cry much though."

"Did you find everything I had stashed?"

"Yeah. I kinda feel bad, though. We really didn't prepare for this. I mean you should have had a baby shower or something."

Jamie shakes her head. "And invited who?" She smiles. "It's fine. Besides you guys bought all that crap for that shifter baby, so we can just use that. And I got a crib; you'll just have to figure out how to put it together." Dean snickers. Jamie laughs, looking down at her baby. She rubs the blanket between her fingers. "Nice blanket."

"I liked it. Figured he would too." They both laugh and then grow silent again.

Jamie looks at him. "Were Mom and Dad here?"

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind. How's Sam?"

"Still out of it." Jamie nods, reaching over and picking her baby up. She holds him close to her chest. He's startle a little but he doesn't wake up. "He's so little."

She nods. "Yeah. But he'll be a hunter in no time."

"Why Mark?" Dean asks.

"He's the son of a prophet and an angel." She kisses him, unwrapping him from the blanket and looking at his hands. "And it's…what Andrew and I were going to name our son, remember?"

Dean thinks for a moment. "…The Djinn thing?"

She nods, looking at her engagement ring, it's still on her left hand. "Yeah. He and I were talking about once before he died, we both liked it." Dean smiles. Mark opens his eyes and Jamie gasps. "Oh my god, he has Cas's eyes." Dean kisses her forehead, and rubs one of Mark's hands with his finger.

Sam walks into the living room. Jamie is asleep on the couch. She has one arm wrapped protectively around Mark. Sam bends down and looks at him. Jamie opens her eyes and smiles. " Hey."

"Hey. How you feeling?" Sam moves her hair back from her face and puts his hand on her cheek.

Jamie smiles. "I'm alright. How are you feeling?"

Sam nods. "Alright."

He looks down at Mark. "How is he?"

"Perfect. His name is Mark."

Sam grins. "Mark Winchester. Sounds about right." He kisses the boy.

"**Breaking News - CBA News**

"The sudden deaths of some 200 religious leaders are currently under investigation. The Vatican has yet to issue a statement, but some are already calling this an act of God."

Dean, Bobby, and Sam stand in the kitchen watching the TV news. Jamie is sitting down and has Mark under a blanket against her chest, obviously breastfeeding. Now, a woman is being interviewed outside the church.

"We all saw him. No beard, no robe. He was young...and...and sexy. He had a raincoat."

Dean shuts off the TV and goes outside.

Dean is working under the Impala's hood in the garage. The radio is on. Sam and Jamie walk up to him. "A freak lightning strike on the heels of the fire that burned down the Center for Vibrational Enlightenment earlier today. Said a spokesman, "this tragedy represents the largest loss in New Age motivational speaker history".

"My god." Jamie mutters.

"Motivational speakers?" Sam asks looking at Dean.

"Yeah, I'm not sure new Cas gets irony any better than old Cas. Of course, old Cas wouldn't smite Madison Square Garden just to prove a point. He is off the deep end of the deep end. And there's no slowing down."

"So, what? Try to talk to him again?"

Dean moves out from under the hood. "Sam."

"Dean, all we can do is talk to the guy."

Jamie shakes her head. "I don't think he's gonna talk back, Sam."

"He's not a guy. He's God. And he's pissed. And when God gets righteous, you get the hell out of the way; haven't you read the Bible?"

"I guess..."

"Cas is never coming back. He's lied to us, he used us, he cracked your gourd like it was nothing. No more talk; we have spent enough on him."

"Okay."

Dean gestures to the toolbox. "Hand me that socket wrench."

Suddenly Sam wakes up to realize that he was hallucinating. "Dean... Bobby? Jamie?"

Jamie walks in with Mark over her shoulder. "Shh…Bobby and Dean are outside with Dean's baby."

Bobby lights a match and throws it into a bowl where it erupts into a huge flame in the basement. Dean is leaning against the stairs. Sam is seated behind him. Jamie is standing next to Sam, holding Mark. There's a devil's trap scrawled on the floor.

Crowley appears inside the Devil's trap, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. "No. No! NO! Come on!"

"Don't act so surprised." Bobby tells him.

"My new boss is going to kill me for even talking to you lads."

Jamie tilts her head. "Really?"

Dean scoffs. "Well, you're lucky we're not stabbing you in your scuzzy face, you little piece.."

Sam interrupts. "Whoa, wait! What new boss?"

"Castiel, you giraffe."

Bobby looks surprised. "Is your boss?"

"Is everybody's boss. What do you think he's going to do if he finds out we've been conspiring? You do you want to conspire, don't you?"

Bobby shakes his head. "No. We want you to just stand there and look pretty." He says sarcastically.

"Listening."

Dean looks up. "We need a spell to bind Death."

Crowley stares at him. "Bind? Enslave Death? You having a laugh?"

"Lucifer did it."

"That's Lucifer."

Jamie looks up. "Big deal."

"A spell's a spell." Sam shoots back.

"You really believe you can handle that kind of horsepower? You're delusional!" Crowley yells.

Dean nods. "Death is the only player on the board left that has the kind of juice to take Cas."

Crowley shakes his head. "They'll both mash us like peas. Why should I help with a suicide mission?"

"Look!" Jamie steps out from behind Sam and Bobby. She holds Mark up for Crowley to see.

Crowley eyes Mark. "Oh I see. That's Castiel's spawn isn't it?"

Jamie shakes her head. "Do you really want Cas running the universe? Because I don't! I don't want my son growing up in this."

Crowley looks down and pours himself another drink.

Bobby is walking down the stairs while flipping through a book. He looks down in time to see a piece of paper pass under the front door. He picks the paper up, and walks outside to see who left it. "Hello?" He looks at the paper to see that it's the spell they had asked for. He brings it inside where Dean, Sam, and Jamie are waiting. "It's from Crowley." He passes it to Dean. "Well, Who feels like hog tying death tonight?" Sam looks over Dean's shoulder. Jamie frowns, holding Mark as she looks at the spell.

"Old age is over-rated anyhow." Bobby says.

Jamie scoffs. "Uh, some of us actually have something to live for."

Later, Sam is sitting on the couch with his laptop. Bobby is on his computer at his desk. Dean and Jamie walk in. Mark is asleep against Jamie's shoulder. "Well, we've got most of this stuff, but we're going to have to make a run for a few things."

Dean walks over and looks over Bobby's shoulder. "Like?"

"Like an act of God crystallised forever."

Jamie rolls her eyes, sitting down beside Sam. "Great."

Sam looks over at them. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Bobby looks up. "That can mean an actual crystal."

Jamie turns to her twin. "See, lightning strikes sand at the right angle - it crystallises into the perfect shape of itself."

Sam scoffs. "Lightning. Act of God."

Jamie smirks. "Crazy, right?"

Bobby points to the screen. "Jinga. You got yourself a fulgurate and we're gonna need a biggie."

Dean steps back and crosses his arms. "And let me guess... rare."

"I found records of an auction. Winning bidder lives about nine hours from here."

The boys and Jamie drive up to a huge stone mansion. Dean kills the lights. Sam and Bobby hurry to the door to kill the alarm. They get caught by a security guard. "Hey!" They turn around, hands up.

Dean steps out from behind him, holding a bag and his flashlight. "Excuse me. You got any Grey Poupon?" He punches the guard in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Sam looks at Dean. "Grey Poupon? Seriously?"

Dean shrugs. "It's what popped in my head."

Jamie shakes her head, walking up to them with Mark in his carrier. "Come on, boys." They walk inside the house, shining their flashlights. Bobby and Sam go off in one direction, Dean and Jamie go off in another. They enter a room with various art pieces and statues in glass boxes. Jamie shines her flashlight over one box and nods to Dean. They over to the box containing the fulgurate. Dean tries to figure out how to open it.

Mark stirs in his carrier, and starts making sounds. Dean gives Jamie a look. She gives him one back, kneeling down and unbuckling him. As she gets up they hear a shot gun cock behind them. She and Dean look at each other and turn around slowly. Dr. Weiss and his wife are standing behind them.

Dean puts his hands up. "Hi. Uh... I don't want to hurt you. Really."

Dr. Weiss raises an eyebrow. "I'm the one with the firearm, son."

Dean stares at it and smiles. "I get that." Mark starts crying, distracting Dr. Weiss. Dean grabs the shotgun from him. Jamie walks away to calm Mark back to sleep. Dean gags the professor and his wife and tie them to a pair of chairs. "Okay. Yeah. Good." Bobby and Sam walk in. "Hey, guys. Uh, so this is Dr. and Mrs. Weiss."

Sam looks at them. "Hi. Sorry." Bobby rolls his eyes.

"I found the God thingy."

Jamie puts Mark down in the carrier, walking over to Dean. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Well, let's light this candle." Bobby puts his bag down on a table.

Dean, Sam, and Jamie arrange the room and start preparing the spell. Bobby walks over and slices Dean's forearm so that he bleeds into a bowl. "You're welcome." Dean says painfully. He wraps his arm up. Bobby pours the blood in with the rest of the potion and hands the spell to Jamie. She stands in front of the altar.

"Te nunc invoco, mortem." The room starts to shake, waking Mark who wails. Dean is holding his arm, he glances over at the carrier. Sam walks over and kneels down next to Mark's carrier as Jamie continues to chant. "Te in mea potestate defixi." Glass shatters. "Nunc et in aeternum!" The roof cracks as she finishes. She whirls around and hurries over to Mark.

Dean looks around. "Um... Hello? Death?"

"You're joking." Death appears behind Dean.

Dean shrugs. "I'm sorry, Death. This isn't what it seems."

"Seems like you bound me." He replies holding up his arms to reveal cuffs around his wrists.

"For good reason, okay? Just, uh, hear us out." He glances at the bag of fast food and goes over to it. "Um... Fried pickle chip? They're the best in the state." He picks up the bag.

"That easy to soothe me, you think? This is about Sam's hallucinations, I assume?" Death asks.

Dean looks up. "What?" He and Bobby look at Sam.

Jamie looks at Sam and then to Dean. "Later." She hisses.

"Sorry, Sam. One wall per customer. Now unbind me."

"We can't. Y-yet." Sam replies.

Death gives them a look. "This isn't going to end well."

Jamie holds her crying son. "You're telling me."

Death looks over at her. "Oh hello, Mark." He walks over to Jamie. She steps back. "Oh don't be afraid, Jamie. He's part angel, he recognizes me." He looks at the baby. "Bright eyed, isn't he?"

Mark's sobs quiet. "We need you to kill God." Dean says.

Death turns around. "Pardon?"

"Kill God. You heard right. Your... Honor." Bobby clears his throat.

"What makes you think I can do that?"

"You told us." Jamie says softly.

"Why should I?"

Dean, Sam, and Jamie look at each other. Dean swallows. "Because... We said so, and we're the boss of you. I mean... Respectfully."

"Amazing."

Jamie whirls around at the sound of Castiel's voice. Mark is startled and starts crying again. Dean looks over at her and then to Cas.

"Cas." Sam says startled.

Castiel looks at them. "I didn't want to kill you, but now..."

"You can't kill us." Dean shoots back.

"You've erased any nostalgia I had for you, Dean." He raises his fingers. Jamie turns around from him, holding Mark close to her.

"Death is our bitch." Dean tells him. "We ain't gonna die, even if God pulls the trigger."

Castiel stares at Death. "Annoying little protozoa, aren't they?" Death gives Castiel a look. "God"? You look awfully like a mutated angel to me. Your vessel's melting. You're going to explode."

Cas shakes his head. "No, I'm not. When I've finished my work, I'll repair myself."

"You think you can because you think you're simply under the weight of all those souls, yes? But that's not the worst problem. There are things much older than souls in Purgatory, and you gulped those in, too."

"Irrelevant. I control them."

"For the moment."

Dean looks between them. "Wait - uh, what older things?"

Jamie steps forward. "Oh my god! Cas ate the Leviathan?" She looks at Death.

"Leviathan?" Dean asks.

Jamie turns to him. "Before God created Angel and man, he made the first beasts - the Leviathan." She gestures to Cas.

Death looks at her. "Very good, Jamie. Now how did you know that? You haven't been swimming around in my head, have you?"

Jamie smiles. "No. Being a feathered bitch for a year had its perks."

Death smirks. He looks at Cas. "Well, I personally found them entertaining, but he was concerned they'd chomp the entire petri dish, so he locked them away. Why do you think he created Purgatory? To keep those clever, poisonous things out. Now Castiel has swallowed them. He's the one thin membrane between the old ones and your home."

"Enough." Castiel demands.

"Stupid little soldier you are."

"Why? Because I dared open a door that he shut? Where is he? I did a service, taking his place." Cas walks towards Death.

"Service? Settling petty vendettas?"

"No. I'm cleaning up one mess after another - selflessly."

Death glances at Dean. "Quite the humanitarian."

"And how would you know? What are you, really? A flyswatter?"

"Destined to swat you, I think."

"Unless I take you first."

"Really bought his own press, this one." Death looks at Jamie and then turns away. "Please, Cas. I know God, and you, sir, are no God."

Dean shakes his head. "All right, put your junk away, both of you. Look, call him what you want. Just kill him now!" Cas turns and glares at Dean. Jamie kisses her son and turns away.

"All right. Fine." Death raises his hand. Castiel snaps his fingers and Death is released. "Thank you. Shall we kickbox now?" Death walks over and sits down. He grabs the bag of food. "I had a tingle I'd be reaping someone very, very soon." He looks at the Weisses. "Don't worry - not you." Castiel disappears. "Well, he was in a hurry."

Death starts eating. Jamie looks over at Dean, as do Sam and Bobby. Sam nods towards Death, who slurs his drink. Dean glances up. "Um..."

"Shut up, Dean. I'm not here to tie your shoes every time you trip. I warned you about those souls how long ago? Long enough to stop that fool. And here we are again, with your little planet on the edge of immolation." He stands up.

Dean looks at the floor. "Well, I'm sorry. All right? I've been trying to save this planet, so maybe you should find somebody better to tip off."

Death looks over at him. "Maybe I should spend my effort on a better planet. Well, it's been amusing." He starts to walk away.

Sam moves forward to stop him. "Wait, h-hold on, hold on. Just - can you give us something? You - you have to care a little bit about what happens to us."

Death looks at him. "You know, I really don't."

Jamie steps forward. "What about me?"

Death scoffs. "You? Please. Without the Apocalypse what are you to anyone, Jamie? Although, you do wreak considerable less havoc then your brothers here."

Jamie shrugs. "Apparently I'm worth something to God." She pauses. "The real God, not Castiel."

Death looks at her. "Hmm. That, in your arms, that boy is worth something. And I do find that little angel father of his arrogant."

Dean shrugs. "Great. Let's go with that."

Death turns to Dean. "Your only hope is to have him return it all to Purgatory. Quickly."

"We need a door." Sam says.

"You have everything you need at that lab. Get him to return there and compel him to give up the power."

"Compel?" Dean asks.

"Figure it out." Death shoots back.

"But that door only opens in the eclipse, and that's over." Jamie says.

Death considers. "I'll make another. 3:59 Sunday morning, just before dawn. Be punctual. Don't thank me. Clean up your mess. Try to bind me again, you'll die before you start. Nice pickle chips, by the way." Death leaves.

Sam walks into Bobby's kitchen, hair wet and shirt changed. Dean is sitting with his feet up on the table, drinking. "You want some coffee with that?" Sam asks.

Dean looks at his drink. "It's 6:00 p.m. somewhere."

Jamie walks in, also sporting wet hair and fresh clothes. "I have that pit in my stomach."

Sam looks back at her and then to Dean. "We got to hit the road. I mean, how are we supposed to get Cas to that lab by friggin' 3:59 a.m.?"

"We don't." Dean says.

"What do you mean, "We don't"?"

"I mean, we can't bring the horse to water, and we can't make it drink. Why fool ourselves?"

Jamie sighs. "Dean."

"Dean, look, I know you think that Cas is gone –"

"It's 'cause he is."

"He's not! He's in there somewhere, Dean. I know it."

"No, you don't."

Jamie walks over to her brother. "We have to try, don't we?"

Sam sighs. "Look, I was pretty far gone sometimes myself, and you never gave up on me."

Dean looks at him. "Yeah, and it turns out that you're about the same open book as you've always been. Hallucinations? Really? I got to find out from Death?"

"Boys."

"What was I supposed to do?" Sam asks.

"How about not lie? How about tell me that you've got crazy crap climbing those walls?"

"Why? You can't help. Either of you. You got a lot of pretty severe crap swinging your way lately, and - and I thought -what? I thought why burst the one good bubble you had left? It's under control."

"What? What, exactly, is under control?"

"I know what's real and what's not."

Jamie looks at Sam. "Really?" She goes into the study where Mark is asleep.

"Sam –"

"Dean, look, we can debate this once we deal with Cas."

"Yeah, you know how I'm gonna deal? I'm gonna stuff my piehole, I'm gonna drink, and I'm gonna watch some Asian cartoon porn and act like the world's about to explode because it is." A news article pops up. "Hey. You got to be kidding me. "Massacre at the campaign office of an incumbent Senator by a trench-coated man." Jamie walks back in. She and Sam look over Dean's shoulder. "There's security footage." They watch the tape. "Well, I think reaching Cas is, uh... out of the cards."

Sam and Jamie walk outside into the lot. Jamie sighs. "Go ahead Sam."

Sam walks around, looking at the sky. "Hey, Castiel. Um... Maybe this is pointless. Look... I don't know if any part of you even cares, but, um, I still think you're one of us, deep down. I mean, way, way, way off the reservation, but..."

Jamie sighs and walks towards him. "Look….Cas, we still have till dawn to stop this. Let us help. Please. For your son?" They turn and see the sunrise. Jamie sighs. Sam frowns. He wraps his arms around her. They go back in the house. Dean is sitting at the table with the laptop open. Weird sounds are coming from it. He pours two more glasses and holds them out to Sam and Jamie. "For the love of G…nevermind, give me that."

Jamie takes her glass. Dean looks up at Sam. Sam hesitates and then points at the laptop. "Only if you turn that off."

Dean smirks and shuts the laptop. He puts Sam's glass on the table and slides it over to him. Jamie takes a drink and then goes into the living room to get Mark. Sam sits down and he and Dean clink their glasses together. Jamie walks back into the kitchen with her son.

"Sam? Jamie?" Castiel appears. He's all bloody and barely able to stand.

"Cas."

"I heard your call. I need help." Cas falls. They appear in Crowley's lab. Sam helps Cas down unto the ground. "We need the right blood. There's a small jar - end of the hall, s-supply closet."

"Got it." Sam takes off.

"Jamie?" Jamie moves over to Castiel and gets down. Cas looks down at Mark.

"Yeah?"

Cas nods to Jamie's arm. "Is that him?"

Jamie looks down at her son. "This is Mark." Jamie pulls back the blanket a little and Castiel looks down at him. Mark opens his eyes and stares up at Cas.

"Mark." Cas repeats. "He has this vessel's eyes."

"Yeah he does." Jamie gets up and turns away.

Castiel takes shallow breaths. "Dean?"

Dean turns around. "What, you need something else?"

"Will you watch over Mark, please?"

Dean and Jamie share a look. Dean looks down. "Like he's my own. Anything else?"

"No." He looks at Dean. "I feel regret, about you, and Jamie, and what I did to Sam."

"Yeah, well, you should." Dean moves equipment out of the way.

"If there was time, if I was strong enough, I'd - I'd fix him now. I just wanted to make amends before I die."

Dean looks at him. "Okay."

"Is it working?"

"Does it make you feel better?"

"No. You?"

"Not a bit."

Jamie looks down at her son. "What am I going to do with all these boys. Sam? Hurry up!"

Bobby looks up at the eclipse starting. He looks at his watch and pats Cas on the shoulder. "Hang in there. Just a couple of minutes. Where's Sam? It's go time."

"Sam?!" Dean walks down the hall and finds the jar. He looks around. "Damn it." He brings the jar back and starts painting symbols on the wall in blood. Jamie goes over to Cas.

"That's good enough." Bobby says.

"I gotcha." Bobby goes over and helps Jamie get Castiel up.

"Okay, step right up, Cas." Jamie leads Cas over to the wall. He's very weak and sways on his feet. Dean hands the spell to Bobby. Jamie looks at Castiel. He does look at her.

"Jamie, you ready?" Bobby asks.

Jamie looks over her shoulder. "No, but I don't have a choice." She starts to go over to Dean and Bobby.

"Jamie." She stops and looks at him.

"I'm sorry."

She nods. "So am I." She goes over to Dean and takes the spell from Bobby.

"I got him." Dean takes Mark in his arms. He glances at his watch.

Jamie stares at the wall. "Ianua magna purgatorii, clausa est ob nos lumine eius ab oculis nostris retento sed nunc stamus" Cas falls to the ground. Dean hands Mark to Bobby and rushes to help him back up. Cas stands again and Dean goes back over to Jamie. Bobby hands Mark back to him and Jamie continues. "ad limen huius ianuae magnae et demisse fideliter perhonorifice paramus aperire eam."

Castiel turns around and looks at Dean. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"Creaturae terrificae quarum ungulae et dentes nunquam tetigerunt carnem eius ad mundum nostrum nunc ianua magna, aperta tandem!" Bright lights stream out of Cas and he falls to the ground. Dean hands Mark back to Jamie.

"Cas?"

Bobby touches him. "He's cold."

"Is he breathing?" Jamie asks.

Bobby shakes his head. "No."

Dean looks up. "Maybe angels don't need to breathe."

Bobby sighs. "He's gone, Dean."

Dean looks down at him. "Damn it." He gets up and stares down at him. "Cas, you child. Why didn't you listen to me?" Cas's face heals. He opens his eyes. Dean gets down to help him up. "Cas?! Hey! Hey! Okay. All right."

"That was unpleasant." He mutters. Jamie scoffs, grinning. She kisses her son, tears falling down her face as she holds Mark close.

"Let's get him up. Easy, there." Dean and Bobby get Cas to his feet.

"I'm alive."

"Looks like." Bobby says.

"I'm astonished. Thank you - all of you."

Jamie smiles. "Don't mention it."

Bobby shrugs. "We were mostly... just trying to save the world."

Castiel looks down. "I'm ashamed. I really overreached."

"You think?" Dean asks.

Jamie pats his shoulder. "We'll talk about it later. Let's get Sam and get out of here." She turns around. Dean helps Cas.

"I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you."

"All right, well, one thing at a time. Come on. Let's get you out of here. Come on." He starts to pull Cas towards the door.

"I mean it, Dean."

Dean nods. "Okay. All right. But let's go find Sam, okay?"

Castiel shoves him away. "You need to run now! I-I can't hold them back!"

Dean looks shocked. "Hold who back?"

Jamie turns around. "Oh my God."

Castiel groans. "They held on inside me. Dean, they're so strong."

Jamie gestures to her brother. "Dean, we have to go! Sam! Sam!"

"Who the hell -?" Dean asks, staring at Cas.

"Leviathan! I can't fight them. Run!"

Dean pushes Bobby forward. "Go! Go get Sam! Go get Sam!"

"Too late." Says the voice that is no longer Cas.

Jamie turns back. "Oh no."

"Cas?" Dean asks.

"Cas is…he's gone. He's dead." The Leviathan shrugs. "We run the show now."

"Jamie run!" The Leviathan throws Dean across the room. He hits the wall and then falls unto the metal table.

"Dean!" Jamie yells.

"Ah!" The Leviathan goes over to Bobby and throws him across the room opposite to Dean. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

He laughs as he turns and looks at Jamie. Mark is crying. Jamie waves her hand and the Leviathan is pushed backward. Jamie looks around the room and then holds her hand out in front of her. "In nomine Dei mei patrocinium advocare sacer ignis ab omni iniquitate!" A ring of fire encircles Jamie. The Leviathan looks at the fire and smirks.


	44. 702 Hello Cruel World

Bobby is unconscious on the ground. Dean is awake, sitting against the metal table. Jamie is surrounded by a ring of fire, holding Mark close to her. "If there is anything of Castiel left in that meatsuit, you won't make it pass with barrier without it exploding. And even if you do…"

Black veins appear on the Leviathan's face. He looks at Jamie and then steps back. He looks over at Dean and approaches him and Bobby. "Bobby?" Dean asks. Bobby sits up. "How many of you ass-clowns are in there? A hundred? More?" Dean asks the Leviathan.

Jamie stares at him. "Definitely more."

The vessel is dripping black fluid. "Your vessel's gonna explode, ain't it? Wouldn't do anything too strenuous. In fact, I'd call it a day, head on home, huh?"

"We'll be back. For you."

He looks at Jamie, then to Dean, and Bobby. He then turns and walks slowly out of the room. Jamie holds her hand out to the fire. "Liberare me." The fire dies away. Jamie hurries over to Dean.

"Well, this is a new one." Bobby mutters.

Jamie shakes her head. "I am so sick of this."

Bobby looks at her. "Since when can you call down holy fire?"

"Oh is that what that was?" Dean asks.

Jamie points to Mark. "I gave birth to a half angel."

Bobby gives her a look. "Point taken."

Dean pulls himself up with Jamie's help. He looks down at Mark who is now asleep. He looks at Jamie and then past her. "Sam!"

Lucifer is holding Sam against a wall with a hand around his neck. "You're not real."

"Right. You think this fruit-bat fever dream is reality? You come back, I'm sorry, with no soul like some peppy American Psycho 'til Saint Dean glues you back together again by buying you some magic amnesia. You're real. I'm very real. Everything between is what we call set dressing."

"No."

"You're still in my cell. You're my bunkmate, buddy. You're my little bitch, in every sense of the term. Sam. Sam."

"Sam! You hearing me?" Dean puts a hand against Sam's chest. Jamie stands beside Dean.

"Sammy."

Sam gasps. Dean holds him. "Whoa. Look at me. Hey. All right, we got to button this up. Come on, let's get out of here. Come on."

Jamie nods. "This way guys."

The Leviathan walks into a water reservoir. As Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Bobby watch, he goes under. A whirlpool appears and black liquid radiates out from it, then disappears. "Cas…" Jamie whispers.

"Aw, hell." Bobby says.

"Damn it." Dean curses.

"You said it. Those... whatever you call 'ems..."

"Leviathans." Sam mutters.

"Right. If they're in the pipes, they got themselves a highway to anywhere."

Jamie sighs. "Son of a bitch. I guess we shouldn't be drinking the water." She looks down at Mark.

"Awesome." Dean picks up Castiel's trenchcoat, which had floated to the edge of the reservoir. "Okay. So he's gone."

"Yeah. Rest in peace. If that's in the cards."

Dean folds the trenchcoat and looks down at it sadly. A tear rolls down Jamie's cheek as she looks at the trenchcoat. "Dumb son of a bitch."

Bobby gestures to him. "Well, he was friends with us, wasn't he? Can't get much dumber than that. Come on, those things will be coming up for air soon."

Later at Bobby's Sam is asleep on a couch. Jamie walks past him carrying Mark. Dean is sitting at the table. He looks up. "Hey. You okay?"

"No. But what else is new?" They stare at each other. Dean gets up and walks over to her. He wraps his arms around her and Mark. Jamie starts sobbing. She grabs unto Dean and cries loudly into his shirt. Tears roll down Dean's face.

"Jamie…I…"

"He's gone, Dean. He's gone."

"I know."

Jamie pulls back. Dean is holding Mark between them. "I hate him. God, I hate him, Dean. He left us. He left both of us. And now this… Mark is going to grow up in this, and he is never going to know his father. He's gonna grow up like we did. He's never going to be safe."

Dean wraps his arms around Jamie and holds her tightly to him. "Mark has you. And he has me, and Jamie I promise you, I will protect you both. I will keep our boy safe."

"Our boy?"

"Yes."

Later…

"Hey. Wake up, sunshine. Up and at 'em, atom man." Lucifer yells at Sam.

"Sammy." Dean touches Sam on the chest. "Sammy, hey –" Sam jumps. "Whoa. That's twelve hours straight, I'm calling that rested. Here." He hands him a bottle of water and a power bar. "Hydrate, and uh, protein-ate."

Sam scoffs. "Breakfast in bed."

"Don't get used to it. Let me see that hand."

"Oh, he wants to hold your widdle hand. How sweet." Lucifer mutters.

Dean removes Sam's bandage and inspects his stitches. "Eh, you'll live. Here." He pours whiskey over Sam's wound. Sam sucks in his breath with pain. "All right, take it easy."

Jamie comes in with her backpack and Mark in a carrier. "So, ooze invasion. Any leads?" Sam asks.

Jamie shakes her head. "None so far."

Bobby walks in. "I got all my feelers out. Whatever they're up to, it ain't, ain't about going Mothra down Main Street. They'll turn up. You seem pretty eager to stretch your legs, you know." Bobby puts a new bandage on Sam's hand.

"Mmm." Sam shifts around.

Dean looks at his brother. "Now onto our other big problem. How're you doin'? And do not say okay."

"I'm not okay."

"You think?"

Jamie elbows him. "Dean. Down."

Dean looks at her. "There's nothing easy about it, Jamie, okay. We acted like he had everything under control."

Sam sighs. "I get it. I'm sorry. Look, I- I didn't exactly want to crack up, you know?"

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean asks, referring to Crowley's lab.

"Well, it's not just flashbacks any more."

"Well then what?"

Jamie sighs. "Oh Sammy." Jamie goes over and sits next to him.

Sam looks at her and then Dean. "It's more like... I'm seeing through the cracks."

Dean looks at him and then Jamie. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm having a difficult time figuring out what's real."

Dean nods wide eyed. "Hallucinations."

"For starters."

"Can I?" Jamie gestures to Sam. He nods. Jamie puts her hands on either side of Sam's head. She closes her eyes.

Dean looks at her "Jamie?"

"Oh boy." Jamie opens her eyes. She sees Lucifer sitting next to Sam. "Mmm."

Dean looks at Sam. "Well for starters, if you're tripping Hell's Bells, why would you hide that?"

"I wasn't hiding it, Dean, I- I was just not talking about it. I mean it seemed like you three had enough going on as it was. Look, I- I just figured, try to hold onto the safety bar and ride it out, you know? But it's getting more specific."

"As in specifically what?" Dean asks.

Sam looks at Jamie. "Lucifer." Jamie says.

Dean gets glasses of whiskey for himself and Bobby. "What the hell, Sam?" Sam has just explained everything Lucifer told him.

"I told you."

Dean sits down. "I mean seriously, how do you, how do you argue with that?"

"I know. It's a problem."

"Well now wait, I got it. Why would the Devil holodeck you a whole new life when he could just kick your ass all over the Cage?"

Jamie glances at Sam. "My god.

Sam sighs. "'Cause, as he puts it..."

"You can't torture someone who has nothing left for you to take away." Sam, Jamie, and Lucifer all say at the same time.

"Very good, Sam. Oh and congratulate your sister for me on the little brat." Jamie looks over in Lucifer's direction. Sam sees her look and looks at her.

Dean shakes his head. "Okay, fine. But this Malibu dream mansion that he, he, he makes for you to take away is this post-apocalyptic mess?"

"It had to be a mess, Sam, or you wouldn't believe it was your life."

Dean stops and looks at Sam. "Wait. Are you seeing him right now? Is he seeing him right now?" He looks at Jamie. The twins nod. "You know that he's not real. Right?"

Sam looks up. "He says the same thing about you."

Bobby gets up. "I'm going back to work."

Sam is taking apart his gun. Bobby is using the computer in the kitchen. Dean is leaning over Bobby's chair. Jamie comes in carrying bags, and Mark. "Do I have to go?"

Dean doesn't look up. "Is that a question or are you just being bitchy?"

Jamie sighs. "Dean…with Sam…you need me."

Dean looks up. "I can manage without you. Right now you need to get out of here." He hands her a stack of documentation. "Here, take this with you."

Jamie takes it. "I have fake ID, Dean."

"But Mark doesn't."

Jamie looks through the documentation. "Angela Jefferson Williams, huh?"

"And her son, Caleb." Jamie sighs. Dean grabs her arm. "I promised I would protect our boy. That's exactly what I'm going to do. Everything is packed into Bobby's old cars, everything is arranged." He hands her a set of keys.

Jamie nods. Sam walks in. "What's going on? You leaving already, Jamie?"

She turns to him. "Dean is sending me and Mark up to AJ's mom in Vermont."

"Vermont? That's pretty far away, Dean."

"That's kind of the point. Jefferson had a safehouse in the mountains up there. I'm getting her and the baby off the radar as fast as possible."

Jamie scoffs. "Yeah, good luck with that."

Dean turns to her, looking annoyed. "Why are you so against this? You come and go as you please anyway, why is this different?"

She stares at him. "Maybe because for six years I lived with AJ, for three years I've had Cas by my side, for the last nine months I've been living with Bobby. I haven't come and gone as I pleased since I was 18. I've only come and gone from you!"

Sam looks away. Bobby looks down. Dean swallows and looks at her. "I'm sorry."

She nods. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean it like that."

"Let's not argue about this anymore. Please."

"Okay."

Dean hugs her. Sam walks over and hugs her. Jamie looks at Bobby. They share a smile. Dean and Sam bend down beside the baby carrier. "See ya little guy." Dean says.

"Stay tough, k? Your mommy is strong and I know she'll take good care of you." Jamie smiles at Sam.

She takes something out her pocket and hands it to Dean. "Here. Thought you might want to…" Dean looks down and sees it's his amulet. He smirks and then hangs it around Mark's neck. He kisses him. Jamie picks the carrier and looks back at her brothers. She goes out the door.

Much later…Dean enters the building where Sam is standing with his hallucination of Dean. He has his gun drawn. "Oh look. Another me."

"Sam, what are you doing?" Dean asks. Sam points his gun at him. Dean holds up his hands. "Whoa, whoa!"

"I was with you, Dean!" He yells.

Dean nods. "Okay. Well, here I am."

"No. No, I don't, I..." He looks at Lucifer, then back at Dean. "I can't know that for sure. You understand me?"

"Sam?"

"Jamie?" He glances over his shoulder and turns around.

Dean whirls around. "Jamie? Where?"

"I hear her voice." He closes his eyes. When he opens them Jamie is standing beside Dean.

Jamie smiles. "This is a…an astral projection, Sam. I'm telling you up front I'm not real. So if you're going to shoot, shoot at me." She gestures to herself.

"Sam? Is Jamie here?" Dean asks.

Sam looks at him. He gestures with his gun. "She says she's an astral projection."

Dean sighs. "Okay, now we're gonna have to start small."

"I don't remember driving here." He tells Dean.

"Well that's because I drove. You thought." Sam sees Lucifer glance at Dean. "Sam is very suggestible."

Jamie turns around. "Shut up Lucifer! Yeah, that's right. I can see you, bastard." Lucifer looks surprised. Sam shoots at nothing where he thinks Lucifer is.

"Whoa, whoa! Sam! This discussion does not require a weapons discharge!" Dean yells. Sam is breathing heavily. He lowers his weapon. "Look at me. Come on. You don't know what's real? Look man, I've been to Hell. Okay, I know a thing or two about torture. Enough to know that it feels different. Than the pain of this, this regular, stupid, crappy _this_."

Sam shakes his head. "No, no, how can you know that for sure?" He looks at his brother.

Jamie presses her lips together and stares at her twin. "Listen to Dean, Sam. Trust him. Trust our brother."

Dean gestures for Sam's hand. "Let me see your hand." Dean reaches out his hand. Sam lifts his right hand. "No, no. The, the gimp hand! Let me see it."

"Smell you, Florence Nightingale." Sam looks around at Lucifer. Jamie holds her hands up and squeezes her eyes shut. Lucifer stumbles back a few steps. "Whoa-ho!" Dean grabs Sam's bandaged left hand.

"Hey." Dean shakes Sam's hand. "This is real. Not a year ago, not in Hell, now. I was with you when you cut it, I sewed it up! Look!" He squeezes his bandaged left hand and grabs the barrel of the gun Sam is holding with his other hand. Lucifer appears next to Dean and flickers.

"We've done a lot more with pain."

"Don't listen to him. Listen to Dean."

Sam takes an indrawn breath and winces. "This is different. Right? Then the crap that's tearing at your walnut? I'm different. Right?"

Sam takes his hands away. Dean keeps Sam's gun. "Yeah, I think so."

"You sure about that, bunk buddy?"

Jamie whirls around. "That's it!" She holds her hand out. "In nomine dei…"

Sam is looking at Lucifer and Jamie. Dean tries to get his attention. "Sam? Sam."

Sam pushes his right thumb against his wound, which bleeds through the bandage. Lucifer flickers again. "Doesn't mean anything."

"Yes it does, Sam. It means everything."

"Hey. I am your flesh-and-blood brother, okay? I'm the only one who can legitimately kick your ass in real time. You got away. We got you out, Sammy."

"Sammy. Sammy." Sam continues to push his thumb hard against his wound. "Sammy, I'm the only one who can..." Lucifer flickers and disappears.

Sam looks at Jamie. She nods and smiles. "You did it, Sammy." She also disappears.

"Believe in that! Believe me, okay? You gotta believe me. You gotta make it stone number one and build on it. You understand?"

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." Sam nods again. His phone rings. "Bobby, hey."

"The Sheriff was right. The hospital thing's definitely our kind of thing. I double-barrelled one of them in the morgue. Silver buckshot - no effect. Bled black ooze."

"Leviathan here?"

"I'm falling back. I'll meet you at the house. We can regroup."

Sam hangs up. "Bobby's got a live one."

"Okay, well let's go."

Sam nods. They head to the Imapala.

Dean turns him as he drives. "Look, when we get back to Bobby's –"

Sam looks at him. "It's okay, Dean, I'm good. No white rabbits." He laughs briefly. "I'm not seeing anything."

Dean nods. "Okay. Baby steps." He gives Sam a small smile and Sam gives him one in return. Sam's phone rings.

He looks at it. "It's Jamie." He answers it and puts it on speaker. "Hey Jamie, you in Vermont?"

"Apple pie, milk and flowery pillows. I'm gonna die if I don't hunt something soon." Sam and Dean laugh. "How are you, Sam?"

"I figured out how to make Lucifer disappear. Thanks to Dean."

"Knew he was good for something." She snickers.

"Hey!"

"So I uh saw you, back there."

"Cool trick huh?"

"When did you learn that?"

Jamie's quiet. Dean looks over. "Jamie?"

"Oh no."

Sam looks at the phone. "What? What's wrong?"

"Look ahead of you."

They pull up to Bobby's. Dean sees what she's talking about. "Oh no." The house is mostly burned. Sam and Dean get out of the car and stand looking at the house. "Oh no." Dean says again.

Sam lifts his phone to his ear. "Jamie, can we call you back?"

"Be careful." She hangs up.


	45. 710 Death's Door

Jamie puts Mark down in his crib, softly singing Kansas to him as she lulls him to sleep. His crib is protected by a devil's trap, sigils, and anti-possession pentagrams and charms that hang from the ceiling. He is also wearing Dean's amulet around his neck. Jamie checks each of these before shutting off the lights and crawling into her own bed. Her handgun is sitting on the nightstand, and there's a shotgun against the wall and a knife and rosary beads within reach. The bottle of cleaning solution next to the handgun is the room's newest feature. The young hunter refuses to take any chances. She tucks her handgun under her pillow before closing her eyes.

The sound of a gun going off startles her from her sleep. She sits up quickly and looks around, but the room is still and undisturbed. Her son is fast asleep. She pulls her gun out from under her pillow and looks at it. For a long moment she stares at the silver barrel until finally sets it on the nightstand and closes her eyes. This time she sees the gun going off. She has a flash of the gun, and then Bobby bleeding. She opens her eyes again and immediately gets out of bed.

Sam is in the back seat of the van with Bobby. Dean is driving. "Bobby? Bobby? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on." He is checking on Bobby.

"Sam, is he dead?" Dean calls back.

"I'm checking." He feels Bobby's neck for a pulse.

"Is he dead?!" Dean yells, his voice demanding an answer.

"Just drive, Dean! Bobby!"

"You gotta talk to me, Sam!"

Sam gets a pulse. "All right, he's breathing. There's a pulse. Ahh!" Sam grabs his head in pain.

Dean glances over his shoulder. "Sammy? Oh god you didn't get shot too did ya?"

"_Sam!"_

"Jamie?" Sam asks outloud hearing his sister's voice.

"_I'm coming, I'll be there as soon as I can._"

"Jamie? What is going on, Sam?"

Sam holds his head. "Ahh."

Dean enters numbers on his cell phone. "Sammy, what's happening?"

Sam opens his eyes. "Jamie's coming."

"Good. Keep him upright. Stop the bleeding."

"I'm not an idiot, Dean! I know first aid for a friggin' bullet to the head!"

"I need the nearest trauma center." Dean says into his phone.

"Hold on. Hold on." Sam whispers to Bobby.

"What's the address?!" Dean turns the van around. "All right, Bobby, hang in there." The van skids as Dean accelerates.

"Bobby! Just hold on!"

Jamie races down a darkened highway. Her truck sputters in protest as the needle reaches beyond eighty and continues falling. Only the lightest shades of pink permeate the darkness around her. Though her eyes are on the road, her focus is elsewhere. In her mind Bobby, Dean, and Sam enter an old abandoned house. Bobby removes his cap and touches his head. There is a small amount of blood on his forehead. "Balls."

Sam looks at Bobby, confused and worried. "Y-you want to tell us what's going on?"

Dean turns around and looks at him. "Yeah, what's going on with your head?"

"I got shot in it!"

Dean gives him an unbelieving look. "You what?"

Sam's expression is more concerned. "Bobby, we've been with you all day."

Dean nods. "Yeah, I think we would have noticed if you took a bullet."

"I didn't take one here. I-I took one out there, i-i-in the real world."

Dean turns to Sam. "You lost us."

Bobby throws up his hands in defeat. "Oh where's your damn sister when I need her?"

Dean gets out his cellphone. "Do you need me to call her?"

Jamie blinks and it's only the road again in front of her. The blackened asphalt, her only refuge, is blurry again as her mind forms a new scene. Bobby's house, burnt to nothing several months ago, but in the vision as clear and solid as if it was still standing. Her brothers appear sitting on the couch in front of the tv, a plastic bag and several dvds littering to the coffee table in front of them.

"I don't even know you right now. There's not even a contest." Dean is saying.

"It depends on the criteria."

"Survival is the only criteria, all right?" He twists around, staring at the doorway to the stairs. "Jamie, hurry up and get in here!"

"Yeah how long does it take to get a baby to sleep?" Sam yells.

Jamie's voice echoes from the room above. "Why don't you come up and find out!"

Dean grabs one of the dvds and gets up. He resembles his earlier argument with Sam. "When the crap hits the fan, it's not about who has skill. It's about who's the bigger badass. Bobby, will you please tell Sam that Chuck Norris could kick Jet Li's ass?" Bobby looks around the room and then walks towards the kitchen. "You grab me a beer while you're in there?" Bobby opens the sliding doors to the kitchen.

Jamie rubs her eyes with one hand, with the other she squeezes the steering wheel, cringing under the influence of her sight. The sun rises quickly, and the highway ends in the exit to Hammonton, New Jersey.

As she stops her truck in the parking lot of the trauma center she grabs the wheel and leans forward. She doesn't pray to God. She can't, the God she was taught to believe in isn't the merciful, loving father, but cold and uncaring shell, clothed in a vessel and hidden from the eyes of the world. Michael, the archangel she clung to in desperate need, whose patronage she invoked countless times in the last two decades, was not the hero, the leader, she had believed him to be. Even after she met him in the past, she secretly hoped he was a better man then her brothers though him to be, that he was compassionate, that he cared. She couldn't help it, she was bound to him, bound to serve him. He knew even as she slumbered in her mother's womb that she was the great prophet, the voice crying out in the desert. And she would be his sister, their bond unbreakable, a bond made in blood. He saved her that night and many nights since. But in her heart she knew that in saving her he had sacrificed others in her place without second thought nor remorse, including her own mother, including AJ.

It was AJ she turned to as she rushed through the trauma center doors and looked around frantically. The silver band around her finger grew heavy, it's engraved words written in her mind. "I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

"Can I help you?"

She whirled around. "I'm looking for Robert Sing…"

"Jamie!"

Her brother's voice brings both relief and terror. "Dean!" Jamie runs Dean and wraps her arms around his neck. He holds her tightly. Sam wraps his arms around her from behind. "Sam." Safe in the arms of both brothers the emotion she held back on the long road pours forth and she starts crying. "Tell me he's going to be okay." She sobs into Dean's chest. Behind her the sounds of the doctor and nurses reach their ears.

"Push 30 more of Mannitol over 10. CBC and 'lytes. Bolus him with 500 saline."

"The vitals were stable two minutes ago."

"Well, he's crashing now."

Dean's arms draw her in closer, holding her so tightly his rapid, uneven heartbeat pulsates in her ear. Sam's large hands grip her waist, his head comes down to rest on her own. Against the sounds of her sobs, he sucks his breath in with difficulty.

The doctor opens the curtain and walks over to Dean. It's been several minutes since Jamie's arrival. The siblings have separated, each finding their space to occupy. Sam is leaning on the wall. Jamie is standing a few feet from him, her eyes red and swollen. At the sight of the doctor coming towards Dean, the twins move around to their brother.

"He's, uh, stable for the moment. Just have to see."

Dean looks at Bobby in the trauma room, then turns slowly and looks at Sam and Jamie. The distress in Dean's eyes is copied in Sam's expression, and Jamie's face. For a moment the siblings take each other in, until Sam breaks their silence. "So, there's nothing else we can do?"

"I'm sorry. We just have to wait. We'll see if the swelling goes down."

Jamie's head comes up. Her lower lip trembles slightly as she tries to speak. "How long?"

"It's hard to say in cases like this."

Dean nods. "Well, he's lasted this long. That's something, right?"

"Well, yes. Listen – the bullet didn't shatter. Only one hemisphere of his brain was injured. These are all positive things. But...I don't want to give you false hope here. He's far from out of the woods. Most of the time, cases like this..."

"They die." It's Sam who says it, but Dean and Jamie both know it. The older brother reaches back, his fingers groping the air for his little sister's hand. He needs to feel her flesh against his, needs the confirmation that is really happening. She slides her fingers between his, the sleeve of her black utility jacket brushes against his blue one.

"Right now it comes down to him. I'll keep you updated." As the doctor leaves, Jamie raises her head and notices a man with thick glasses and suit watching them. She jerks Dean's hand, and he turns to meet the stranger.

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. Is one of you Robert Singer's next of kin?"

Dean glances from brother to sister, guessing whatever the man wants isn't going to put any of them in a better mood. "I'll take care of this. Sam, you stay with Bobby. Jamie, you're with me."

His fingers are cold as he follows the man down the hall, partially dragging Jamie behind him. Her pace is slower than his impatient stride and so he yanks her along until they finally stop near the entrance doors. The man does his best to appear sympathetic, but the siblings easily see through it. "We know this is a stressful time."

Dean wants none of it. He's angry, and confused, and terrified, and powerless, and the last three make him more angry. "Yeah, okay. No offense – you can skip the garnish. What, did his insurance lapse, or what?"

"We're sorry to ask, but, um, did your uncle ever make his wishes known i-in regards to organ donation? Organs are only viable for a very limited window –"

Jamie's wall, the force she uses to stone herself against the horror and pain of her life, chooses this moment and these words to crumble. "Oh my God."

At the same time her brother can only echo the offending word. "Viable"?

The man continues, as though he cannot see the anger that finally washes over Dean, finally twists him just right, and the terror and pain that breaks Jamie down. "We're just hoping some good can come of this tragic –"

Jamie starts crying, and Dean pulls her into his arms. "Listen to me. I'm gonna say this once. He's not gonna die. It's one bullet. He's gonna be fine because he's always fine." His voice is manic, but still commanding, still unwavering, still so sure and confident. It doesn't mean he actually believes what he's saying, it's for his sister, for his brother, and for the idiot in front of him to get the message that he better shut up and walk away while he still can.

"I apologize."

"Why are you talking to us like he's gonna die, huh? I do my job! My brother does his job. My sister does her job. Do your jobs! Save him!"

"Of course they're doing everything they can." The answer only infuriates him. Jamie pulls away from him far enough that he rears back and punches the glass covering a sign next to the man's head.

"Walk away from me. Now!" Jamie closes her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. When she opens them, the man is hurrying away. Her eyes fall on his bleeding hand, she moves to take it, but he pulls it away. "Leave it." He storms away, through the doors, leaving her standing in the middle of the hallway alone.

She's still standing there when he walks back inside, although he seems considerably less angry. She has of course seen what happened while he was outside, but he doesn't mention it, not yet, and she knows better than to ask. For now he puts his arm around her, and they walk back down the long hall. Dean stops at the coffee machine and feeds in some wadded up dollar bills. Jamie sighs, trying to control her breathing. He turns her to face him and they stare at each other for a long moment, until he gets his coffee from the machine. Sam still leaning on the wall outside Bobby's room. It takes them both a moment to compose themselves as best they can before returning to their brother's side.

"What did that guy want?" Is their brother's reaction.

She shakes her head. "Nothing important."

He agrees. "Yeah. Just some insurance mook." He pauses after, considering whether to go on. Finally he tells them. "Dick Roman was out there."

Sam's eyes come up to meet his brother's. "What? What happened?" Jamie stays quiet, waiting for Dean's explanation.

"Nothing...For now. It was just a friggin' staring contest. That was about it." He doesn't continue. They don't need him too. They know that if it was important he'd tell them. There are no secrets. Not today. Not now. "What's the update?"

Sam takes a deep breath. His eyes shift from brother to sister and back again. "The swelling's down a little. They took him off sedation. Apparently, he – he started fighting his tube. So they pulled them out, and he's breathing on his own." His voice is soft, despite what he's telling them he still appears nervous and concerned.

Jamie reacts on impulse. "Oh God. Thank God." She breathes, jumping into her twin's arms. He hold her for a moment before returning her to her feet.

Dean keeps his composure. "That's good, right? Is that good?"

His brother nods. "Yeah. Well, doctor said best-case scenario."

Dean nods to himself, allowing a little bit of his wall, his lead box, open. A small ray of hope escapes as he looks at his brother. "All right, so when they gonna take the bullet out?"

Jamie hears the answer before Sam says it. His thoughts meld into hers. The answer is not what she had dared hope it would be. If anything it's worse. "No. Sam, No." She shakes her head, stepping away from her twin.

"What?" Dean asks, his expression immediately back to concerned.

Sam takes a breath. He reaches out to his sister, but she brushes him away. He feels a twinge of guilt, like she blames him. She blames him for a lot of things, it's true, but this is purely her shooting the messanger, and that hurts him. When he can finally look at Dean, his voice shakes. "Dean, t-they're not even – they're not even gonna try that, not yet."

"What does that mean?"

Sam almost doesn't want to go on. Doesn't want to face the anger from Dean and the blame from Jamie. But he has to. They have to understand. "The word's "abrading," I think."

"Jesus." Jamie mutters the blasphemy with force and turns around. Her eyes travel to the lights above them.

"English." Dean mutters, perhaps a little more harsh then he intended.

Jamie glances over her shoulder as Sam lets out a short sigh. "Cutting out the dead brain tissue." Their voices mingle together and Dean lets their words sink in.

"I don't know, Alex. I-I don't know."

A man and woman in the middle of a conversation stop near siblings. Sam ignores them, continuing to explain the situation to Dean. "That's if the doctor even thinks it's worth the risk."

His words are almost lost in the thrall of the couple's conversation. "You know, I, uh... You're working..."

"I don't know."

"I'm – I'm..."

Sam realizes that both his siblings are distracted. Maybe it's on purpose, he's not sure. But he isn't about to let the ominous feeling hanging over his head go. Not when he knows Dean. Not when he knows Jamie. "Can I talk to you?" He puts his arm around Jamie and gestures to his brother.

They walk across the hall and stop next to some chairs between the vending machines. "What? Talk about what?" Dean is impatient, and he's slipping back into anger to hide it. It's not lost on Sam that the anger is his way of covering up his fear.

"You know what."

For a moment Jamie and Sam can both see the fear, the terror, in Dean's eyes when he looks from one twin to the other, before shaking his head. "No, we're not gonna have that conversation."

Sam is resolved to not let it go. "Well, we need to."

Dean realizes what Sam is thinking, and he refuses to share in the revelation. He turns to his sister, hoping irrationally that she has a different opinion, but she only shakes her head. "He's right."

The anger inside Dean continues to weld up, but he tries to hold it back, to avoid exploding on his siblings for something that isn't their fault. "He's not gonna die." He seethes, pointedly.

When Sam looks up his face is void of all hope, despair is the only emotion Dean can read in his eyes. "He might."

Dean shakes his head. He can't believe. He doesn't want to believe it. So he gets angry at it instead. "Sam."

Jamie grabs unto her oldest brother and turns him toward her, forcing him to look at her. To see her. "I can't see anything, Dean. I can't see." Her voice breaks.

He still isn't going to believe it. He refuses, trying to rationalize, to find some ray of hope."Maybe you're just too far away. Maybe if you can get in there and do your psychic crap, you can…

"Dean!" She yells, clocking him back into his senses.

Sam steps forward, pushing their sister to the side. "Dean, listen – we need to brace ourselves."

Denial. One last attempt at denial. "Why?"

His answer is short, but it's riddled with the revelation that Sam has given up. "Because it's real."

So when rationalization and denial don't work, he resorts back to anger. Back to bottling up everything. Back to shoot first and ask later. "What do you want to do? You want to hug and – and say we made it through it when Dad died? We've been through enough." With that he turns and walks to the door. He pauses at the door and looks at Sam and Jamie, then leaves.

Jamie starts crying again. She sinks down into a chair and puts her face in her hands. Sam looks over at her and then sits down in a chair and presses on the palm he injured. He has tears in his eyes. He reaches over and puts his hand on his sister's back.

After a minute Jamie gets up and walks away. Sam watches her. "Daddy." She whispers, leaning against the wall. She wipes her eyes, staring at Bobby. "Dad, I know we don't talk much but…oh god…Dad if Bobby dies. Please…Please. Mom, you, Jess, AJ, Dan, Jefferson, Caleb, Ellen, Jo, Adam, Rufus, and Cas. We've lost everyone. Bobby is all we have left. Please. Daddy, please." She looks up through tears. Sam gets up and goes over to her. He pulls her into his arms. She sobs and then pulls away, looking toward Bobby. "Dad, you have to help me. Help me, please." She stares at Bobby's room. Sam puts his hands on her shoulders.

"What do you need me to do?" He whispers.

Jamie swallows. "I'm going to project myself into his head. But I've never done it without physically touching them." She takes a deep breath. "Hold unto me, Sam." Sam squeezes her shoulders. She squeezes her eyes shut.

As Bobby walks through the house, the light goes out in the windows as he passes. He opens a kitchen drawer, which is full of odds and ends. Looking over his shoulder, he sees a younger version of himself talking on the phone in the main room. Jamie flickers in behind him, but he doesn't notice.

"No, we didn't shoot rifles, as a matter of fact. We threw a ball around. He's a kid, John. All three of them are. They're entitled. Yeah, I know I ain't their dad." The younger version of Bobby hangs up and throws the phone down. Jamie flickers back out.

She opens her eyes and gasps outloud. Sam keeps her from falling forward. "Jamie!" He wraps his arms around her, feeling her shake in his grip.

She shakes her head, panting. The strength it takes to do what she had done overwhelms her. "I'm alright. I'm alright, it's just…it's so difficult to hold myself in there."

She closes her eyes again, stubbornly resolved to try again. She flickers in and looks around. She standing in Bobby's study. This time she isn't going to waste a moment taking in the surroundings. "Bobby?" She calls out to him.

"Jamie?" Hearing her, he turns around. His eyes widen in surprise and it takes him a moment before he can rush to her. "Are you?"

She shakes her head, her voice urgent. "I don't know how long I can hold this for. We need to hurry if I'm going to bring you out." She's done it before, with Sam. There is no doubt in her mind that she can do it again. She can bring him back to consciousness. She reaches out to him.

"Jamie, I-" He recoils to dig through his pocket. She sees a piece of paper that he starts to bring out.

"Bobby, what-" Before she can take it she loses her grip. Her mind recoils and instantly she's back in her body. She gasps louder than before, and almost collapses.

"Jamie?" Sam holds her in his tightest embrace.

"No. Not yet. We're so close." She moans in frustration. "I can do this. I can do this. Dad…again. Help me." She begs for John's intercession. For her father's strength, afterall if he could endure a hundred years on Alistair's rack. If he could climb out of hell, she could be strong enough to pull their uncle back from the brink.

"Jamie." Sam's voice echos her name as she finds herself standing in Bobby's kitchen. This time Bobby is a child, and his father is seated at the table, enraged and yelling. "Oh, you deserved it. Believe me. You were nothing but ungrateful."

Jamie turns to see Bobby standing a few feet away, his eyes locked on the memory of his father. "I was a kid! Kids ain't supposed to be grateful! They're supposed to eat your food and break your heart, you selfish dick! You died, and I was still so afraid I'd turn into you I never even had kids of my own."

"Good. You break everything you touch."

Across the room Bobby's mother starts to cry. Jamie finds that she can't move. She can't speak. She can only stare at the man she and her brothers consider their mentor, their uncle, their adaptive father.

"Uh-huh. Well, as fate would have it, I adopted two boys and a little girl, and they grew up great. They grew up heroes. So you can go to hell!"

A tear streams down Jamie's face. "Bobby." She reaches towards him. But just as Bobby turns to look at her, the hold breaks.

The return to her body leaves her physically exhausted. "Goddamnit! No. No!" Tears fall down her cheeks as her body trembles from the effort.

"Damnit you're gonna pass out. You're shaking." Sam tells her. "Stop." He demands, holding her face. "Please."

She relents, knowing he's right. Another attempt would likely render her unconscious or worse, and that would just make her useless. A sense of failure washes over her, and she leans against the wall with Sam at her side, looking utterly depressed.

After a moment two nurses walk past and she lifts her head, catching the tail end of their thoughts. "Sam. Dean!" She grips her brother's shoulder and calls for the other.

Dean walks towards them. "What happen?" She's still shaking, straightening up taking great effort. "What's wrong with you?"

She shakes her head in response, not caring, not having the luxury to care. "Come on." She says instead, gesturing for the room.

The nurses are getting ready to transport Bobby. As the Winchesters enter the room a nurse barks orders. "Keep the head of the bed up for transport. IV can run off the pump. Just run a TKVO. We'll have to wait for respiratory."

Sam steps forward and gets the nurse's attention. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. What's happening?"

"He's showing signs of responsiveness. We're taking him up for surgery. If you want to see him, I'd squeeze in there quick."

Jamie sighs as a feeling of relief washes over her. Finally. Finally good news. The concern that has been written all over Sam's face abates a little, he too allows himself to hope. Only Dean refuses to be optimistic. He is still cold when he grabs his siblings and pushes them towards the bed.

A nurse puts her hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sorry. We need to get moving."

"Right. Yeah." Sam tries to smile. He glances back to his siblings and then forces himself to look at Bobby. Grasping the old man's hand he tries to find the right words. "Hey, um... Bobby, um, hey..." "Just... thanks... for everything." He pats his hand and let's go, stepping back so that his sister can lean forward.

Jamie grabs his hand and tries to avoid the newest stream of tears threatening to fall. "Bobby, I love you. And…you're the closest damn thing we've all had to a father, especially since Dad died." She kisses his hand and lets go.

"All right. Please step back."

Dean nods to nurse. "Yeah." He grabs his siblings again, starting to push them back when suddenly Bobby raises his hand and opens his eyes.

"Bobby." It's Jamie who makes the exclamation. Sam raises his head and then gestures to the nurses.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop. His eyes are open."

Dean's eyes widen, as if in disbelief. "Bobby?" He leans in closer.

"Hey." Sam puts a hand on Bobby's shoulder. Bobby removes the respirator covering his mouth and nose. Sam takes Bobby's hands. Jamie touches his arm. Bobby looks at Jamie.

Instantly Jamie feels the strain of her psychic pull. But Bobby's thoughts are masked from her. She doesn't have the strength to read his thoughts. Her gift, her ability, her mind, and her body are all spent, still recovering from her projection attempts. "Bobby… Dean, he's got something to tell us. I-I can't…I'm spent, I can't…" She grabs for her brother, realizing too late that it should be Sam she's grabbing for. Sam at least has a psychic tie to her.

Bobby realizes she can't see it and starts mumbling. Dean leans forward and then away. "What – don't talk. Don't talk. A pen – I –" He grabs the pen and chart at the end of the bed. "Here. Here, here, here." He hands the pen to Sam, who hands it to Bobby. Jamie turns Sam's palm up and holds Bobby's hand so he can write. "What is it?"

"Numbers." Jamie mutters.

Bobby writes "45489" on Sam's hand while breathing heavily with the effort. He smiles slightly at the siblings, who lean closer to him. "Idjits."

He tries to smile. Dean, Sam, and Jamie try to smile back. Bobby's head falls back onto the pillow and his eyes close. The monitor he is attached to starts to beep. "Bobby? Hey!" Dean yells in panic.

"Oh God. No. No…" Dean and Sam hold unto their as the nurses push them out of the room.

The monitor shows flat lines. "Call a code – trauma room."

As medical staff hurry towards the room and attempt to revive Bobby, the siblings stare, mouths pressed into thin lines. Dean and Sam are both red eyed. Jamie is crying and holding unto Dean. Sam grabs unto Jamie and holds her against him, staring at Bobby. Dean turns and wraps his arms around his sister.

Threw her tears an image appears in her mind. Her brothers, Bobby's couch, the Chuck Norris dvd. Bobby walks in with four beers and sets them on the coffee table. She moves from her spot on the arm of the couch, next to Dean, and reaches towards her surrogate uncle. He withdraws his hand, and the image goes black. When she opens her eyes again, she can already smell the burning zest of salt and smoke.


	46. 717 The Born-Again Identity

"He's what?" Jamie asked, her voice sounding tired, exhausted. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand as she held the phone to her ear.

"You heard me." On the other line Dean sounded just as exhausted, but it was partly masked by his anger. "So you better get your ass down here."

"Yeah, I'm on my way." She snatched the keys from dining room table and moved for the door. Dean hung up and she flipped her phone closed. "Jackie?" She called, her hand on the doorknob.

An elderly lady walked into room, holding Mark in her arms. "What is it?"

"It's Sam."

She nodded, a knowing expression her face. "Go." Jacqueline Jefferson had been a hunter's wife for 30 years before Jamie came into her life. She had lost her husband and her son to forces beyond her control, and her older son was carrying on his father's legacy. The baby in her arms may not be her blood relation, but had her younger son lived, there was no doubt that he would have been. Her Andrew had loved Jamie with all his heart; it was the least she could do to respect her son's memory to take in his fiancé and her infant son. If nothing else she could understand Jamie's pain of being separated from her brothers for the sake of her son. They were hunted, and the name Winchester was not safe, especially for their newest and more vulnerable addition to the family. So when Dean had called her several months ago and asked if she would take in Jamie and the baby, pretend as though Jamie was her daughter, she had immediately said yes.

"Thank you." Jamie whispered before stepping out the door. She would be eternally grateful for Jackie, especially because she loved her son like he was her own grandson. It tore Jamie's heart in two every day to think that if it wasn't for her, if she had been strong enough to kill Lilith, Mark really might have been Caleb Jefferson. But she pushed the sorrow she still felt for her lost lover away as she hurried to her truck to meet up with Dean. Her brothers needed her now.

"Okay, sir? You can't just barge in here without an appointment!"

Dean angrily walked through the door, heading straight for the doctor working at his desk. Beside him Jamie quickly glanced over her shoulder. "Shut up!" She hissed toward the bewildered nurse, her voice dripping with venom.

Dean planted his hands firmly on the wooden desk as the doctor rose to confront the siblings. "They said, "Talk to Kadinsky." You Kadinsky?" He demanded.

"You need to be scheduled!"The nurse continued, despite the obviously threatening look the younger Winchester was giving her. Jamie's eyes burned hot, and her knuckles were white.

Dean, just as irritated yelled over his shoulder "Well, then, schedule me!" He turned his attention back to the doctor. "He was in a car crash. Why the hell can't we see him?"

The doctor only nodded, knowingly. "You're Sam Smith's brother and sister."

The acknowledgement calmed the siblings if only for the moment. Jamie unclenched her fists and Dean took a breath. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"What's wrong with him?"

The doctor turned to his rather frightened nurse to dismiss her. "It – it's fine. Thank you. Really." He tossed her a whirly smile as she retreated from the room. Turning his attention back to the siblings, he cleared his throat. "Sam was admitted. He was treated for a broken rib and lacerations."

Jamie sighs in relief and moves her hair away from her face. Dean nods. "Okay. That's not too bad. And?"

The doctor looks at both siblings, pausing for before continuing. "And... he's on our locked psychiatric floor."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "What?"

Dean looks surprised. He turns to his sister, his jaw dropping slightly. She shakes her head, just as surprised. Dean scoffs. "I mean, he's had some trouble..." He glances at the doctor.

"So you're aware that Sam is experiencing a full-blown psychotic episode?"

Jamie puts her hands on her hips, sighing with a slight smirk. "Say that again?"

Dean shakes his head. "Psychotic? Come on. I mean, the guy's... " He looks up, angry again. "It's not like the guy's freakin' Norman Bates."

The doctor nods. "No, I'm sure he isn't. We need to determine whether his state was brought on by the insomnia or whether the insomnia is a symptom of his condition. Do you understand? So that we can figure out how to treat him."

Dean sighs. "Well, all I can say is that the sleep thing is – is kind of new."

"Yeah. Relatively." Jamie isn't looking at the doctor anymore, she's staring at Dean. Obviously one or both of her brothers have neglected to mention just how bad her twin is. Although she feels a twinge of guilt. She should have known.

"Right. Well... we've pumped him about as full of sedatives as we safely can. So far, he won't go under. I've never seen anything like it."

"Can we just see him, please?"

Sam is on the bed, dressed in a white T-shirt and white hospital pants. He looks completely out of it. He sees Lucifer sitting on the table beside his bed, playing with a piece of string. "I'm just sayin'. Back when you had no soul..."There's the sound of the door opening. Sam groggily looks towards the door to his room, seeing the doctor, Dean, and Jamie enter. "...you never had to sleep." The doctor leaves. Lucifer looks towards Sam's siblings. "Ah, Mr. Helpless. And the prophetess. Pull up a six-pack, guys. How's the baby?"

Jamie closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens her eyes again, she can see Lucifer on the table. She glares in his direction before turning her attention to her twin. "Hey Sammy." She says softly.

Dean closes the door, gentlely moving Jamie away from it. "How are you feeling?" He asks soberly.

Sam glances at him and chuckles. "Maybe you should cancel my UFC fight."

"Yeah. Keep that sense of humor, Sam. It'll get you through this." Jamie bites her lip, twitching at the sound of Lucifer's voice. She reaches out and grabs the string that Lucifer is using to play cat's cradle. She leans in her upper lip twitching into a snarl.

Dean and Sam watch her with interest, until Dean sits down on the end of Sam's bed and sighs. He looks away and then looks back at his brother. "Sam, I'm gonna find you help." His voice is soft, comforting almost.

Jamie doesn't take her eyes off Lucifer. "We both are."

Sam scoffs and looks away. "Now, that sounded a little cynical." Lucifer comments. Jamie reaches out and slaps him across the face. Lucifer giggles, pointing to Jamie.

Sam ignores him. "I don't think it's out there, guys."

"We don't know that." Dean shoots back.

"We know better than most. It's all snake oil. Last faith healer we hooked up with had a reaper on a leash. Remember?" He's referring to the time Dean was electrocuted and they sought out a faith healer. Jamie closes her eyes at the memory of Dean pale and barely able to walk. They had been young hunters back then. Their father was still alive. This was before hell and Cas and angels. Before Jamie lost the man she loved. When death was still a stranger. She looks toward Dean.

Dean stands up. The same memories are flashing threw his mind. He sighs, turning away. "Yeah, Sam, I remember." He's almost hurt by his brother bringing that up. Sam hadn't given up on him, he was resolved not to give up on Sam.

"I'm just saying..."

Dean turns around, his frustration masked with anger, like always. "What? That you don't want my help?"

Sam shakes his head with a sigh. "No, I'm just saying… don't do this to yourself." He glances across the room at his twin. "Either of you"

Jamie turns around at his comment. "Sammy, you're our brother."

Dean nods. "And if we don't find something –"

Sam cuts him off. "Then I'll die."

"Oh, you're upsetting me." Jamie glances in Lucifer's direction and then back at Sam.

Sam's voice is resolved. "Dean, Jamie, we knew this was coming."

Dean is shaking his head. He holds up a finger to silence him. "No."

"When you put my soul back..."

"No." It's Jamie's this time. She takes a step forward.

"...Cas warned you about all the crap it would –"

Jamie's eyes flash with anger and despair at the mention of Castiel's name. Tears instantly come to her eyes. "Stop it, Sam."

Dean's reaction is much more violent. His anger flows much deeper. The wound hurts just that much more. "Screw Cas! Quit being Dalai frickin' Yoda about this, okay?" He punches his hand with his fist. "Get pissed!"

Sam sighs. "I'm too tired. This is what happens when you throw a soul into Lucifer's dog bowl. And you think there's just gonna be some cure out there?" He looks at his siblings sadly. Dean nods and bites his lip. Jamie sighs and crosses her arms.

"Oh, you guys are having a moment."

Jamie glances in Lucifer's direction and throws her hand out, causing Lucifer's head to smash against the wall. Sam notices. "Jamie?"

She nods, walking over sitting down next to Sam. Dean standing the background watching silently. She moves his hair back from the cuts on his forehead. "We're gonna fix this, Sam. I swear." She kisses his temple where the cuts are.

Back at Rufus's cabin, Dean and Jamie have a table littered with everything holding every contact between the two of them, their father, and Bobby. Jamie has multiple papers piled beside Sam's laptop, she scans the screen quickly. Dean is looking through a journal and talking on the phone. "I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's. I'm looking for some info. If you could, uh, call me back. 785-555-0128. Thanks." He hangs up and crosses a name off a list. Jamie looks up and shakes her head.

They don't stop. They continue to work through every contact they have. Dean is on the phone again. "I am so sorry to have bothered you." He says sarcastically before hanging up and tossing his phone down.

Jamie gets up and walks over to the fridge. Dean crosses another name off his list. Eight names are now crossed off. Jamie walks over to him with a beer in her hand, which she holds out to him. "Hey." He wraps his arm around her waist and she leans against his chair.

"Hey."

He stares up at her. After a moment he opens his mouth. "Never got to ask. How's our boy?"

She snickers, wrapping her arm around his neck. "Big."

He nods. "Mrs. Jefferson watching him?"

"Yeah. She loves him." Jamie pulls out her cellphone and shows Dean a picture. Their son is sitting on the floor with a rattle in his mouth, looking wide eyed at the camera. His face is all Dean, and he has the hunter's stand-on-end dark hair. Dean tries not to focus on the fact that those eyes are the same deep, brilliant shade of blue as Castiel's. Anyone else would think the boy has his mother's eyes, but Dean knows Jamie's eyes, and he knows Cas's eyes, and it is the definitely the latter staring at him.

"He's sitting up all by himself." He finally says. He doesn't need to count the months to know that Mark is almost nine months old. He knows the date all too well.

"He'll be walking soon." His sister tries to smile as she puts her cellphone away. "Not going so well?"

He scoffs rubbing her side. "Don't need to be psychic to see that."

"Yeah. Thanks." Jamie is asleep on the couch with a book half open across her chest. Dean is sitting on the couch beside her. The sound of Dean on his phone startles her and she sits up, rubbing her eyes. Dean hangs up, crosses out another name, closes the journal and picks up a smaller journal. He tosses the smaller journal onto a table as he gets up and walks to the refrigerator. As he is taking out a can, the journal falls to the ground. Dean picks it up. A business card for Mackey's Taxidermy has fallen out. On the back is a cell phone number. Jamie walks over and stands next to him. They look at each other.

Dean types the number into his phone and places it against his ear. "Yeah, hi. Uh... my name's Dean. I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's. I'm, uh, looking for some info. If you could call me back at 785-555-0128. Thanks."

Night again. Jamie is doing a search on the laptop. She brings up the "Amazing Grace Helping Friends" website. She scoffs at the site, chewing on her lip as she gazes it over. Suddenly Dean's phone rings. Dean looks her. She waves her hand and his cellphone flies off the table. He catches it.

"This is Dean." He says into the phone.

"Mackey. Calling you back. Hey. Real sorry about Bobby."

"Yeah, me too."

"Look, what you called about – I might have something for you. There's this guy. He goes by "Emmanuel." He kind of roams. First started hearing about him a couple of months back. How he was healing the sick, curing the crazy."

Jamie looks up from the laptop, interested.

"Uh-huh."

"Naturally, I think something in the milk ain't clean. Find this sucker, punch his clock. Right?"

"Right."

"Heard the best way to get to him is through his wife, Daphne, out in Colorado? So, I go. Tell her I'm going blind. It's true. My right eye's burnt out. She says, "Go home. He'll come." So, I go. I set every trap, every test in the book."

Jamie scoffs. "Good Hunter." She mutters, nodding herself.

Dean smirks, looking at her. "That's what I would have done."

"Emmanuel shows. He passes every one. There ain't nothing weird about this guy. Except... he's the real deal."

"What do you mean?"

"He touched me, and my eye was fixed. Look – I don't believe in much that don't suck your blood. But I wouldn't call you on a maybe."

It's enough for Jamie. She slams the laptop shut, and by the time Dean is off the phone, she has her jacket on and is stuffing things into her bag. Dean takes a moment to process before he heads to the corner where his own bag is laying.

Dean and Jamie walk up the stairs to the front door and Dean knocks. An older man opens the door. "Hi. Uh, is this, uh, Daphne Allen's house? I'm looking for Emmanuel." Dean says. Jamie stays a step behind Dean.

Man nods. "Well, you found him. Daphne's resting. If you don't mind."

Jamie gives Dean a look. He glances at her and then smiles at the man. "Oh, yeah, sure."

The man steps outside and closes the door. Jamie backs up a little. "Hi." She says, a little too politely.

"Hi."

Dean puts his hands in his pockets. "Um… So, I was hoping, uh…"

Through the window, Jamie sees a woman who is bound to a chair and gagged. Jamie steps behind Dean. They look back at the man, whose eyes turn black, revealing him as a demon. The Demon grabs Dean and throws him into Jamie, sending them both against the door. The window cracks from the friction of Dean's skull bouncing off it. "You were saying, Dean?" He cackles.

Jamie sneers. "You son of a bitch." She sends him flying unto the ground. The demon shakes it off and gets up.

"Hello Jamie. How's the baby?" He starts for her, but Dean puts his arm out, blocking him.

"You know, I'd think twice. Or don't you know that your boss issued a hands-off memo?"

The demon laughs. "Please. What have you done for him lately? Roman's head on a plate? No? Whatever Emmanuel is, Crowley's gonna want him – a lot more than he wants you two these days. So... "

The Demon starts towards Dean, who stabs it with his knife. The Demon yells and light flashes from his eyes and mouth as it dies. Jamie pushes the Demon down the stairs as Dean withdraws his knife. A man is standing at the bottom of the stairs. Dean and Jamie stare: it is the body of Jimmy Novak, Castiel's former vessel.

"Dean…" Jamie grabs for her brother, bracing herself against the door. Her heart hurts. Dean's heart hurts.

"What was that?" Castiel asks.

Inside the house Castiel removes the gag and ropes binding Daphne. "Did that creature hurt you?"

"I'm okay." She grabs his hand and holds it with her own. "But, Emmanuel... They were looking for you."

"It's okay." Jamie has to turn away. She can sense that Castiel loves this woman, and it triggers a wealth of emotions she isn't ready to deal with. Dean, however, forces himself to watch. "I'm Emmanuel." Castiel looks towards the siblings and holds out his hand. Dean shakes it. Jamie stares at the couple's joined hands.

"Dean. I'm...Dean." He replies, half-heartedly. "This is Jamie." He nods to his sister.

"Thank you for protecting my wife." He embraces Daphne tenderly.

"Your wife. Right." Dean forces a smile. Jamie stays quiet.

"I saw his face. His _real_ face." He comments, as though he's not used to the sight.

"Yeah it's not too pleasant." Jamie comments quietly.

"He was a demon."

Dean's answer seems to shock the angel. "A demon walked the Earth."

"_Demons._ Whackloads of them. You don't know about...?" Jamie grabs Dean's hand and shakes her head only slightly. Dean clears his throat.

"You saw the demon's true face." Daphne puts her hand on Castiel's chest. She looks at Dean and Jamie. "Emmanuel has very special gifts."

Dean nods. "Yeah. I-I've heard that about... Emmanuel. That you can heal people up."

"I seem to be able to help to a certain degree." He looks at Dean. "What's your issue?"

Jamie finally looks squarely at Castiel. "Our brother."

Dean is driving with Castiel in the passenger seat. Jamie is in the backseat. Dean glances towards Castiel, trying to make conversation. "So, Daphne – is that, uh, your wife?"

Cas doesn't look at him. "She found me and cared for me."

"Meaning?"

He pauses. "Oh, it's a...strange story. You may not like it."

Dean shakes his head, looking at the road. "Believe me, I will."

"A few months ago, she was hiking by the river, and I wandered into her path, drenched and confused, and... unclothed. I had no memory. She said... God wanted her to find me."

Jamie finally looks up. She moves in closer to Cas. "She's a prophet?" She asks with curiousity.

Castiel looks back at her, surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"

She scoffs lightly with a shrug. "We have things in common." Cas looks like he wants to ask more, but Dean interrupts.

"So who named you Emmanuel?"

" ." He answers, completely deadpan.

Jamie snickers. Dean grins. "Well, it's working for you. Must be weird not knowing who you are."

Castiel shakes his head. "Well, it's my life. And it's a good life."

"Must be nice." Jamie mutters, leaning back against the seat.

Dean looks troubled. "Yeah, well, what if you were some kind of... I don't know...bad guy?"

"Oh, I... don't feel like a bad person." Jamie stares at Dean through the rearview mirror. The pain isn't gone, for either of them. Neither is the anger. But they need to control it. They cannot cut down Emmanuel for Castiel's sins. Not now. Not when Sam needs help. "So, your brother..."

"Sam."

"Sam. What's his diagnosis?"

Jamie smiles a little. "It's not medical. Believe me."

Castiel glances back at her for a moment and then nods. "That should be fine. I can cure illness of a spiritual origin."

"Spiritual?" Dean asks, his anger and frustration starting to pour out. His fear as well, but he keeps it masked.

"Dean." Jamie pleads.

He ignores her. "Okay. Someone did this to him."

"You're angry."

Jamie moves forward again, trying to keep her brother calm and both of them from saying too much. "We both are." She tells Cas, softly.

"Well, yeah. Dude broke my brother's head." Dean tells him.

"He betrayed you, this dude. Both of you. He was your friend?"

Jamie swallows with difficultly. Memories of her and Cas in heaven shoot through her mind in a whirlwind of pain. "More than that. A brother…my…"

"Your lover?" Cas guesses.

"My son's father."

Dean reaches back and squeezes his sister's hand. "Yeah, well, he's gone."

"Did you kill him? I sense that you kill a lot of people."

Dean sighs, allowing himself to open up a little. Let Emmanuel feel what Castiel did to him. "Honestly, I-I-I don't know if he is dead. I just know that this... whole thing couldn't be messier. You know, I used to be able to just shake this stuff off. You know, whatever it was. It might take me some time, but... I always could. What Cas did... I just can't – I don't know why."

"Well, it doesn't matter why." Cas tells him evenly.

"Of course it matters."

"No. You're not a machine, Dean. You're human. Your friend's name was Cas? That's an odd name."

"Short for Cas-" Jamie starts but Dean cuts her off.

"Jamie."

"Doesn't matter." She says, sending Cas a reassuring smile.

Dean parks the car and gets out. Jamie gets out beside him. Cas starts to get out, but Dean stops him. "Oh, hey, hey. Just, uh, sit tight. We'll be right out, okay?"

They walk into the store. Dean stops at the door. "How many?" he asks his sister, over his shoulder.

"Three." She answers.

Dean takes out his phone. He hears the door open, and looks up at a mirror to see a man walking towards him. He takes out his knife. The man shoves Dean into a wall and Dean pushes the man into a refrigerator, shattering its glass door. "Jamie!" He yells. As the man stands up, Dean stabs him with his knife. Light flashes from the man's face as he dies. Dean picks up his phone and sees that the screen is broken. "Oh, come on."

He walks to the next aisle of the store and finds two more demons waiting for him. One of them has Jamie held up around the throat, chocking her. Jamie raises her hands and suddenly the demon is choking. Dean raises the knife and swings at one of them, but the demon blocks his arm and the knife goes flying to the floor. Dean punches the demon and it throws him into some shelves. The demon holding Jamie drops her and she curls her fingers into fists. While Dean is still on the floor, someone stabs the demon from behind. Light flashes from its face. Black smoke pours from the mouth of the other demon as it leaves the body it was possessing. "Dean, you okay?" Jamie asks, rushing toward him.

"Emmanuel, you son of a bitch." Dean whirls around. The first demon falls to the ground, revealing Meg, who is holding the knife.

"Emmanuel. Yeah, not so much."

"Meg." Dean and Jamie say at the same time.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. You got some 'splainin' to do." Dean turns the sign on the door around so it reads "Closed" and pulls down the blind. "Rumors are really starting to fly about this Emmanuel fellow. My curiosity sure got revved up."

Jamie crosses her arms and leans against the shelves. "I bet."

Dean shakes his head, walking over to stand in front of the demon. "Just tell me what you want, Meg."

"Imagine my surprise when I track him down, and he's snuggled up with _you two._ And he's the spitting image of poor, dead Castiel. So, Dean, what's poor, dead Castiel doing in that junker out there?"

"Christmas carolling."

Meg raises an eyebrow. "Fun. But how's he alive? Last I heard, he played God, went poof."

Dean sighs and after a moment he shakes his head. "I don't know."

Meg licks her lips and turns to face Jamie. The prophetess smirks a little smugly. "Neither do I." She takes a step forward, the smugness replaced with a warning look. "And neither does he."

"So you got to keep it shut." Dean echoes, his expression darker then his sister's.

Meg snickers. "Oh, I do?"

"He doesn't know he's Cas."

"I know. Been watching you for hours. So here's the deal. You might remember Crowley and me were frosty back in the day?"

Jamie scoffs. "Times haven't changed." She looks at Dean.

Dean nods. "Good."

Meg fanes disappointment. "hat hurts my feelings. I've been good to you two."

Dean smirks. "No, you've been good to _you,_ sweetheart."

"Look. Right now…"Dean takes some items from the shelves and puts them in his jacket. He hands some to Jamie. "…rumors of this wandering healer are strictly low-level. But body count's getting high enough to change that. Folks start poking, they sniff angel dust."

Jamie grabs a six pack out of the broken freezer. "Great."

Dean looks up from the shelf. "Yeah, they start falling all over each other trying to tell Crowley."

"Now picture Crowley with his hands on harmless little amnesia-Cas. Don't get me wrong. I'm gonna burn that smarmy dick. My time's coming. But right about now, my army-of-one situation is not cutting it. It's cold out here, there's a price on my ass, and I need friends."

Dean finally looks up. He gets right into Meg's face. "Yeah. I get that. But my sister and I? We aint it."

"That's where you're wrong, guys. 'Cause I'm here to help you, and that makes us friends."

Jamie walks over to her brother. "No it doesn't. "

Dean shakes his head. "Help, huh? You mean see if you can't turn harmless little Cas out there into an angel-sized weapon?"

"Like you're taking him carolling. And by the way, you really want to keep going with no backup? Hey, I don't trust you, either. But I could really use Emmanuel. And he trusts you. So for now, it's in everyone's best interests to hold hands and cross the street together, okay?"

Dean looks at Jamie. They stare at each other a long moment, and then Dean turns to Meg. "We go straight to Sam."

"No detours." Jamie adds, walking past them towards the door.

"I love it." Meg turns towards Jamie.

"I bet."

Dean grabs Meg's arm. "And one more thing. My knife." Meg holds up the bloody knife and Dean takes it. He takes out a rag and starts wiping it off.

"You sure we wouldn't be safer traveling with a full-throttle angel? I could jog his memory."

Jamie squeezes the knob on the door too hard and it breaks off. Dean and Meg turn in her direction. She's seething as she turns. "Meg, I swear to God, Crowley, Michael, and Lucifer if you even…"

Meg puts her hands up innocently, looking between the siblings. "I'm kidding! We wouldn't want to upset the poor guy. Or you, Jamie."

Dean, Jamie and Meg walk across the street where Castiel is standing against the Impala. Cas's eyes widen in fear and concern when he sees Meg. "Her face! She's one of –"

"We know." Jamie tells him, as she walks past him to her door.

Meg smiles. "It's okay. We come in different flavors."

Dean turns to Cas. "She's, uh... a friend." It seems to hurt him to say that, and Castiel isn't so convinced.

"Sort of." Jamie shoots in, opening her door.

Meg glances at Dean and then looks Cas up and down. "Meg. Just here for moral support. I mean, after all, we go way back." Cas looks shocked. Meg chuckes. "Dean, Jamie, and me. Just met you, of course." She walks forward and stands in front of him. Cas looks sick. "But I think we're gonna be good friends, too."

Jamie casts a glance at her brother. Dean shakes his head. "All right. Can we go?"

Dean is driving, Cas is in the passenger seat and Jamie and Meg are in the back seat, Jamie behind Dean and Meg behind Cas. They're all quiet. Castiel finally speaks up. "This silence is very uncomfortable. Is there something I should know?"

Meg looks up. "I don't know. Dean? Jamie?" She looks at each sibling in turn.

Dean glares at Meg. "No. Meg has that effect. Awkward. You know?"

"Very." Jamie mutters, leaning back in her seat.

Castiel glances over his shoulder at Meg. "That must be difficult for you."

Meg scoffs softly. "Dean's making a joke, Emmanuel."

"Oh." He chuckles.

Jamie leans her head against the window. "Some things never change."

Dean turns off the engine and gets out of the car. A number of people are standing around the emergency entrance to the hospital. Dean walks around the car and joins Jamie, Castiel, and Meg. Jamie crosses her arms and leans into Dean. "We're screwed. And Sam is running out of time." Her voice is soft but there's a hint of urgency.

Castiel glances around, his eyes widening in almost terror. "Oh, gracious."

Dean looks through binoculars at the people outside the emergency entrance. Meg looks around and then curses. "Damn it. Demons."

Dean looks over at her. "All of them?"

"No grass growing under _your_ feet."

Dean looks at Jamie. She nods. Castiel turns to Dean. "How many of those knives do you have?"

Jamie looks up. "Just one."

Castiel is surprised by this. "Well, then, forgive me, but what do we do?"

Meg smugly turns to Dean. "Yeah, Dean. Got any other ideas how we could blast through that?"

Dean turns around, glaring at the demon. "Excuse us. Meg?"

Meg rolls her eyes. "Oh, for the love of..." Dean, Jamie, and Meg walk a short distance away. "Sam's in there. I know you're enjoying the double dip with your old pal, but –"

Dean snickers, shaking his head. "You think it's that cut and dry? Really? You know what he did. And you want to tell him and just hope that he takes it in stride? He could snap!" He doesn't want to admit it, but the thought of Cas going crazy again or worse shakes him to his core. "He could... disappear. Who knows?"

Jamie grabs her brother's arm. Her face is twisted in pain. "We just got him back. I am not going to lose him again." She takes a breath and looks up at Dean. "_We_ cannot lose him again."

Castiel walks over to them, apparently having heard their conversation. "I gather we know each other." He looks especially at Dean.

"Just a dollop."

Jamie grips Dean's arm. "Meg."

Cas nods. "You can tell me. I'll be fine."

Dean is staring at the ground, breathing heavily. "How do you know?" He asks, his terror, his fear, coming out again. "You just met yourself."

Jamie nods. "We've known you for years." She looks at the ground.

"You're an angel." Meg says from behind them.

Cas looks up in confusion. "I'm sorry? Is that a flirtation?"

"No, it's a species. A very powerful one."

Jamie looks up, sighing. She lets go of Dean. "She's telling the truth." She looks away again. "I swear by my prophetic tongue."

Dean nods. "That's why you heal people. You don't eat. I'm sure there's more."

Cas stares at him. "Why wouldn't you tell me? Being an angel – it sounds pleasant."

Jamie scoffs. "No, it isn't." She tells him. Dean puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Trust us. It's bloody, it's corrupt. It's not pleasant." He tells Cas, sincerely.

"They would know. You used to fight together. Bestest friends, actually. And Jamie-"

Cas interrupts her, staring at Dean. "We're... friends? Am I Cas? I-I had no idea. I don't remember you either of you. I'm sorry."

Dean looks at Jamie. Jamie looks away. "We have a child together, Cas." She whispers.

Cas cringes a little, remembering. "Your…your son?"

"His name is Mark." She says, a little choked up.

He is extremely confused and overwhelmed by him. "I…"

Meg shakes her head, walking towards the angel. "Look. You got the juice. You can smite every demon in that lot."

"But I don't remember how."

Dean points to Cas's chest. "It's in there. I'm sure it's just like riding a bike."

Cas looks at him. "I don't know how to do that, either." Dean rolls his eyes and looks away, exhausted. Cas pauses for a moment and then nods. "All right, I'll try."

Dean steps back. "This ain't gonna go well."

Jamie steps in front of him. "Yeah, you get back and cover your eyes." She says over her shoulder.

"I don't know. I believe in the little tree topper."

The three of them stand at the top of hill watching Castiel smite each of the demons. Jamie gasps, and falls to her knees. She sees Cas's memories: meeting Dean, helping him to escape Zachariah, breaking Sam's wall, working with Crowley, and releasing the souls back into Purgatory. "I'm sorry, Dean." The emotion, the pain, the despair, the trust, the love. Dean grabs unto her and she gasps out loud again, turning to look at him.

"That's my boy." Dean and Jamie turn to stare at Meg. "Uh, your boy."

One of the demons tries to run away, but Castiel appears right in front of him. "I don't think running will save you." he puts a hand to the demon's head and smites him. Dean, Jamie, and Meg walk up behind him.

"That was beautiful, Clarence." Meg comments, sarcastic as always.

Jamie crosses her arms and shakes her head. "Yeah, beautiful."

Dean stares at Castiel. "Cas?" He asks, concerned.

"I remember you." He turns to face Dean. "I remember everything." Jamie looks at Castiel. He turns to her. "I am so sorry, prophetess." His voice is full of remorse.

Jamie sees the angel she knew in his eyes. It overwhelms her. "Cas…" She goes forward to hug him. He pushes her back.

"No. What I did. What I became. Why didn't you tell me?" He turns to Dean, looking lost, and angry.

Dean nods to himself, biting his lip. "Because Sam is dying in there."

"Because of me. Everything. All these people. I shouldn't be here." He walks away.

"Cas!"

"Cas. Cas!" Dean starts to go after him. He turns to Meg. "You stay here." He runs after the angel. "Cas!" Jamie follows after Dean. They start to catch up. "If you remember, then you know you did the best you could at the time."

Cas shakes his head. "Don't defend me." He tells Dean pointedly. "Do you have any idea the death toll in Heaven? On Earth?" He stops and turns to face the siblings. "Jamie, I abandoned you when you needed me most. I left you to die. I left our son without a father."

Jamie closes her eyes, a tear runs down her face. "He has Dean." She says hoarsely.

"I left you without a protector."

She nods. "I can protect myself and Mark."

Castiel stares straight into her eyes. "That is not the point! I made a vow to you, and I broke it."

Dean reaches out to him. "Cas..."

The angel whirls around to face the hunter. "We didn't part friends, Dean."

Dean shrugs. "So what?"

"I _deserved_ to die. Now, I can't possibly fix it... So why did I even walk out of that river?"

"Maybe to fix it. Wait." Dean opens the trunk of the car and takes out Castiel's trenchcoat. He runs his hand over the fabric for a minute and then holds it out to him. Cas looks down at it and then up at Dean. Jamie turns around, her hand clawed against her chest. She gasps out quietly.

Lucifer is sitting in a chair next to Sam's bed, holding the book "Three Little Pigs". "I see that third little pig was smart. Went out and got some bricks."

Dean, Jamie and Castiel are standing in the room. Cas is wearing his trenchcoat. The chair next to Sam's bed is empty. Dean looks angry. Cas looks solemnly at Sam. Jamie walks over and puts her hands on the side of Sam's head. Sam shivers and looks at her. "Don't touch me."

"Shh. It's me. It's Jamie." She holds him still and closes her eyes. He thrashes in her grip.

"What the hell do you mean you _can't?_" Dean asks Cas, fearful.

"I mean there's nothing left to rebuild." He explains.

"Why not?"

"Because it crumbled. The pieces got crushed to dust by whatever's happening inside his head right now."

Jamie opens her eyes and gets up. "Cas is right. I can't find anything that even resembles the wall Death put up."

Dean crosses his arms and leans against the wall in defeat. "So you're saying there's nothing? That he's gonna be like this until his candle blows out?"

Cas looks at the ground. "I'm sorry. This isn't a problem I can make disappear. And you know that." Jamie nods, crossing her arms and looking at the floor. Cas stares at Sam for a long moment. His jaw drops slightly as he realizes something. "But I may be able to shift it."

Dean looks up. "Shift?"

"Cas?"

"Yeah, it would get Sam back on his feet." He goes over and sits on the bed close to Sam. Sam is having trouble breathing. Cas looks at Dean. "It's better this way. I'll be fine." He turns to Sam. He flinches.

Dean takes a step forward. "Wait, Cas, what are you doing?"

"Castiel, no." Jamie goes over to him and grabs his arm. "Castiel."

Cas sighs and looks at her. He shakes his head. "Jamie…you and I…"

Jamie's eyes widen and she gets angry. "Forget you and I!" It isn't about their relationship. She knows that now. She knows how they feel about each other; deep down they both love another. But regardless of everything Dean has done, Mark is Castiel's son, and she is not going to let him walk away from him, like John walked away from her. She loved Bobby with her whole heart, but for everything he was, he was not John and that hole in her heart is unquenched. If she can spare son that pain, she will. "Our son-"

"Dean's son." he says stiffly, cutting her off. Jamie looks away, letting go of him. So it's done then, he is disowning him, not unlike John disowned her. Castiel frowns and then forces her to look at him. "You tell your son, that his father loves him." He looks at Dean as he says it.

Jamie gets up and backs away towards Dean. Castiel turns his attention back to Sam. "Now, Sam this may hurt. And if I can't tell you again, ...I'm sorry I ever did this to you." He puts a hand on Sam's head. Sam groans in pain and his face and eyes glow red. The red travels up Cas's arm and face and his eyes turn red. Sam groans and gasps for breath.

"Sam?" Dean and Jamie hurry over to the bed.

"Dean! Jamie!" He sees them, and he sees them as his siblings. The voice, Lucifer, it's gone. A weight has been lifted from his chest. He can breath again.

"Sam!" Dean says in relief.

"Sammy." Jamie breaths, grabbing unto his waist. Sam wraps his arms around her. He pulls back and turns. "Cas? Cas, is that you?"

Cas's eyes widen in fear. He sees Lucifer on the bed in Sam's place. "Hello... brother." Castiel stands up and backs away in horror. Sam, Jamie, and Dean look at each other. Jamie narrows her eyes, jumping across the bed and going over to Castiel. She looks at him and then to the bed where he sees Lucifer. She waves her hand and Lucifer is thrown across the room. Castiel narrows his eyes and looks at her.

"It's going to be okay, Cas." She whispers.

Jamie and Dean are standing outside the hospital, waiting for Sam to get changed and come out. Jamie is staring at the ground. Dean chews his lip and then taps her arm. "Hey. You know what Cas said in there…about Mark…You know I'll do my best, right?"

She nods, still not looking at him. "Yeah I know. It's not that. It's just…" She sighs. "Bobby was, for all intents and purposes, my father…"

"Hey, he was ours too."

"No. You don't understand." She turns and looks at him. "Dad abandoned me when I was 8 years old. I have spent the equivalent of five days with him in the last twenty years. Five days, Dean! You had those fourteen years with him that I missed. You can't say anything to close the hole I feel from that. That hole in my heart hurts every damn day." She wipes her eyes roughly. "And Mark is going to have that. Our son is never going to know his father."

Dean is quiet for a moment. "Our son?" Jamie looks at him. "It doesn't matter, Jamie, not as much as you think. He's our son, which means he has a father. And that father is going to do his damnest to make sure he knows it."

Sam walks out before Jamie can say anything else. She wipes her eyes as she follows after her brothers, and heads for the Impala. "I don't know. I mean, we can't just leave him." Sam says to his siblings.

Jamie sighs. "I don't want to leave him either."

Dean looks at them. "Well, we can't bring him with us. Everything on the planet's out for us, okay? Word gets out, we can't protect him. Not really."

"Not at all." Jamie corrects.

"This is safer." They reach the car and stand against their respective doors. "Every demon who knows about Cas is dead."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Well…"

Sam nods. "Not everyone. Look, Dean, this whole "enemy of my enemy is my friend" thing feels kind of like a demon deal." He says, referring to Meg.

"It's not a deal. It's –"

"It's what?"

"Compromise?" Jamie offers.

Dean shakes his head. "Mutually assured destruction. Look, man, I get it. She's not our friend."

Jamie scoffs. "We don't even have friends. All our friends are dead."

"Yeah." Dean says quietly. He gets into the car. Jamie and Sam share a look.


	47. 721 Reading is Fundamental

Castiel is looking out the window in his hospital room. Dean and Sam arrive. Jamie meets them in the parking lot. She has Mark strapped to her chest in a carrier. Dean turns to her as she walks up to them. "Jamie?"

Jamie looks at him. "Whatever you two did last night made my prophet senses all tingly."

Dean goes over and lifts Mark out. "Eeen." He mutters, snuggling against Dean.

Sam turns to Jamie. "Why did you bring Mark?"

"Sam. Look." She snaps her fingers and fire appears in her palm. She closes her hand and it disappears.

Dean and Sam look at her in shock. Dean looks at Mark. "What happened to your mommy, huh?"

"My prophet powers just got an upgrade," She points to Sam and Dean."And if you two restarted the apocalypse I am gonna kick your asses. Tell me Michael and Lucifer aren't free."

Dean shakes his head. Sam gestures to the bag. "Give her the tablet, maybe she can make heads or tails of it."

Dean takes out the tablet and hands it Jamie. She looks at it and squints. They walk down the hallway. "We raced all the way here, and now I don't know. I can't say I'm fired up to see what's left of the guy."

"Cas?" Jamie asks, looking up.

Sam nods. "Yeah. You think he remembers at all?"

"He remembers." She mutters.

"I hope you're right, but I'm guessing whatever kind of hell baggage he lifted off of your plate. It's not gonna be pretty."

"Yup." She looks up from the tablet. "I can't read this. Not all of it. I can read Leviathan and there's something about God and Purgatory. And blood of the fallen."

Dean turns back to her. "Blood of the fallen? What does that mean?" Jamie shrugs. They see an orderly coming towards them. Jamie stuffs the tablet back in Sam's bag.

"Hey. Excuse me, miss, gentlemen, but it's way past visiting hours."

Meg comes out of a room and stops the orderly. "It's okay, Abel. I've been expecting them. Hello, boys. Jamie." Her eyes fall Mark in Dean's arms. "Oh is that the little half breed?"

Dean glares darkly at her before handing his nephew back to his mother. Meg leads the siblings to Cas's room, where he's is staring out the window. Dean hesitates and then softly speaks. "Hey, Cas."

He slowly turns around. He seems almost surreal, and at peace. "Hello, Dean." He smiles and then glances to Sam. "Sam." He starts to say Jamie's name but he notices Mark. "Jamie, is that…" He gestures with his hand, a small grin on his face.

Jamie glances down at her son and then looks up at Cas. "Yeah. This is him." She adjusts him on her hip so that Cas can see him. He tilts his head as he stares at him. Mark turns his head and stares back. After a moment Mark shifts uncomfortably in his mother's arms, looking around for Dean. "He wants you." Jamie says softly to her brother, trying to ignore the look of pain that crosses Castiel's features for a moment when Dean takes the boy into his arms.

Dean looks down at Mark, who settles himself down once in Dean's embrace. The hunter looks up sheepishly, meeting Castiel's eyes. "Look at you, walkin' and talkin'. That's – that's great, right?"

Cas walks over to Dean and points a finger at him. "Pull my finger." He says with all seriousness.

Dean looks shocked. "What?"

"My finger – pull it."

Sam and Jamie look at each other, almost terrified. Dean clears his throat, glancing to his siblings and then does so. There is a crash, the lights go out and window and light fixture shatter. Sam and Jamie look around, still both seeming terrified. Castiel laughs. Mark starts to cry. Meg turns on a lamp. Jamie and Sam share a look. "What the hell?"

Dean looks at his siblings and sighs. He rubs Mark's back comfortingly, getting to him to calm down. He takes a moment to collect himself before turning back to the angel. "Okay, just hang on, Cas. Wait. Let us catch up to you for a second."

Sam nods. "So, you're saying you remember who you are, what you are."

Cas grins. "Yes. Of course. Oh. Outside today, in the garden, I followed a honeybee. I saw the route of flowers. It's all right there, the whole plan. There's nothing to add."

Sam raises an eyebrow and turns to Meg. "You might want to add a little Thorazine."

Meg sighs in exasperation. "Right? He's been like the naked guy at the rave ever since he woke up. Totally useless."

Dean glances at Jamie. She gives him a look. Castiel grins wider, gesturing to Meg. "Will you look at her? My caretaker. All of that thorny pain. So beautiful."

Meg rolls her eyes. "We've been over this. I don't like poetry. Put up or shut up."

Hearing Cas's words Jamie's head shoots up and her eyes instantly narrow. "Wait. Her?" She puts her hands on her hips. "I am the mother your child!" She says quickly. Too quickly. She's forgotten what happened the last time they saw each other.

He looks away. "I uh…"

Sam sighs, stepping front of his sister. "Okay. So, Cas, you said you woke up last night?"

Castiel looks up, suddenly excited. "Yes. I heard a ping that pierced me, and, well, you wouldn't have heard it unless you were an angel at the time." He glances at Jamie. "Or a prophet."

Jamie shakes her head. "Woke me out of a dead sleep. Mark too." Dean looks down at Mark. Sam reaches behind him and grabs the bag. He hands it to Castiel.

"That's also when we opened this."

Castiel looks down at the tablet and smiles. "Oh. Of course. Now I understand."

"Understand what?"

He looks up at Sam and then Dean. "You were the ones." He laughs turning away. "Well... I guess that makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Dean asks. He adjusts Mark on his lap and then hands him to Jamie.

Jamie looks down at her son. He has Dean's necklace around his neck. The amulet is glowing red. Her eyes widen. "This is the Word of God."

Dean looks at her. "What?"

He and Sam notice the necklace. Sam points to Mark and then looks at Jamie. "Hey, where did you…"

"If someone was going to free the Word from the vault of the earth, it would end up being you two." Cas explains. He turns back around. "Oh, I love you guys." He pulls Dean and Sam into a hug. Jamie frowns.

"Oh. Uck. Okay. All right. Okay." Dean says hesitatingly.

Sam pats Cas briefly on the back. "Yeah, yeah. You said…so this is the Word of God written here?"

"Did you know that a cat's penis is sharply barbed along its shaft? I know for a fact the females were not consulted about that."

Jamie looks up. "Not in front of the baby."

"Sorry."

Dean and Sam share a look. Dean sighs. Cas turns away, studying the tablet. "Cas, please, we're losing ground out there, okay? We need your help. Can you not see that?"

He turns the tablet over in his hands. "This is the handwriting of Metatron."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Metatron? You saying a Transformer wrote that?"

"No." Jamie replies shortly. Mark is playing with the amulet.

"No. That's Megatron." Dean tells him.

"What?"

"The Transformer – it's Megatron." He turns to Jamie and takes Mark again. "Isn't that right, buddy?" Mark giggles.

"What?" Sam asks again.

Jamie sighs. "Metatron is an angel."

"He's the scribe of God. He took down dictation when creation was being formed." Cas explains, turning back to the brothers and Jamie.

Sam points to the tablet. "And that's the Word of God?"

Cas nods. "One of them, yes."

"Uh... Well, what's it say, then?"

Cas looks down at the tablet."Uh... "Tree"?" He looks at Sam and Dean. "Horse"? "Fiddler crab"? I can't read it. It wasn't meant for angels."

Jamie takes the tablet and tries to read it again. "Leviathan, God, and purgatory. And blood of the fallen. That's all I got. Maybe something about a…it's fuzzy."

Dean turns to Cas. "So why can't Jamie read it?"

Jamie hands the tablet back to Castiel. "She is the voice, but not the interpreter." He smiles.

Dean shakes his head. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" He asks annoyed.

"It's not meant for me." She tells him.

Sam looks at his sister. "But you can read it, right?"

Jamie scoffs, shaking her head. "It's in ancient Enochian, not Latin. It's the language of God himself." She gestures to the tablet. "I can read bits and pieces but God has made it so only the prophet can read its full account."

Dean looks confused. "But you are the prophet."

She nods. "I am the Prophetess of the Apocalypse. This is not the Apocalypse. I hope."

Sam scoffs. "So what do we need, the Prophet of the Divine Word?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, this all sounds bad. What are you two jackasses doing with the Word of God? Let me see that thing." Meg grabs for the tablet.

Dean steps in front of Cas. "Back off, Meg."

"Come on, it's my ass, too."

He hands Mark to Sam. "Back off."

Meg gets up in his face. "Damn it! Enough of this "demons are second-class citizens" crap!"

Jamie moves towards them. "Dean, Meg, cut it out! Now."

Cas frowns. "Don't like conflict."

Jamie turns around. "Cas." He disappears and the stone tablet drops to the floor, breaking into three pieces.

Sam looks down at Mark, who goes very quiet, staring around the room. "Uh..."

"What the hell was that?" Dean demands.

Meg puts her hands on her hips. "You heard him. He doesn't like conflict. He's down in the dayroom now. I guarantee it."

Dean sighs, gesturing with his hands. "All right, Jamie and I will go handle Cas. Sam, will you please pick up the Word of God?"

"Yeah." He hands Mark to Jamie.

Dean leaves the room. Jamie follows him. They walk down a hallway. Dean stops at the doorway to the dayroom and looks at Castiel, who is sitting at a table with his back to them. Jamie stops walking, and looks at Dean. She frowns. After a moment they walk inside and Dean goes to stand in front of Cas. "You realize you just broke God's Word?"

Castiel looks away and Dean sits down at the table opposite him. "It's Sam's thing, isn't it? You taking on his, uh, cage-match scars. I'm guessing that's what broke your bank, right?"Jamie starts to walk over to them, but stops and hangs back.

Castiel tries to smile. "Well, it took... everything to get me here."

Dean stares at him. "What are you talking about, man?"

He smiles. "Dean, I know you want different answers."

Dean shakes his head in frustration. "No, I want you to button up your coat and help us take down Leviathans." He pauses and looks hard at the angel. "Do you remember what you did?"

Cas holds up the board game "Sorry!" He shakes it once and the board and pieces appear on the table, set up ready to play. He sets the box aside. "Do you want to go first?"

After a few minutes Jamie sits down next to Dean and feeds Mark a bottle. Dean picks up a "Sorry!" card.

"You know, we weren't sure at first which monkeys were gonna make it. No offense, but I" He watches as Dean moves a marker on the board. "was backing the Neanderthals because their poetry was... just amazing. It's in perfect tune"He picks up a card. "with the spheres. But in the end, it was you – the"He moves a marker "homo sapiens sapiens. You guys ate the apple, invented pants."

Dean sighs, eyeing the angel. "Cas, where can we find this, uh, Metatron? Is he still alive?"

Cas looks down at the gameboard. "I'm sorry. I – I think you have to go back to start."

Dean moves his marker. "This is important." Cas motions for Dean to pick up another card. Dean does so and moves another marker. "I think Metatron could stop a lot of bad. You understand that?"

Jamie sighs softly, she leans over and whispers to Dean. "You have to play the game, Dean. It's the only way you're gonna get through to him."

Cas picks up another card. "We live in a "sorry" universe. It's engineered to create conflict. I mean, why should I prosper from... your misfortune?" He puts down a marker and moves Dean's marker back to the start. Jamie gives Dean a look. "But these are the rules. I didn't make them."

Dean shakes his head. "You made some of them. When you tried to become God, when you cut that hole into that wall."

"Dean... it's your move."

Dean pounds a fist on the table and swipes the board to the floor. Mark spits out his bottle, staring at Dean. Jamie sighs again. "Dean."

"No!" He says pointedly to his sister. He looks at Cas. "Forget the damn game! Forget the game, Cas."

Cas looks down at his lap, suddenly very depressed. Jamie holds Mark against her shoulder and looks away. "I'm sorry, Dean."

Dean stares at him, tears in his eyes and despair on his face. "No. You're _playing_ "Sorry!"

Cas stares at him for a few minutes and then starts picking up the game pieces. He stops abruptly, and looks up. Jamie looks up as well. "You've got to be kidding me." She groans.

Dean looks from his sister to Cas. "What?"

"Sam. He's talking to angels." Cas grins.

Jamie gets up from her chair. "Dean, take Mark." She hands him their son and goes over to Cas.

There is a rustling of angel wings and Cas and Jamie appear in Cas's hospital room. There's a blonde woman and a dark haired man standing there. Angels. "Castiel?" The man asks.

Cas smiles. "Hi."

"You're alive?" The male angel asks, as if in disbelief.

Jamie takes a step forward. "Looks that way doesn't it." She gives her brother a questioningly look.

The male angel is staring at her. "The Prophetess. The voice in the desert." He says in awe.

Jamie nods. "In the flesh."

The female angel shakes her head. "You." She points to Castiel.

"Hello, Hester." Cas says suddenly looking sad.

Hester growls, walking towards him. "You smote thousands in Heaven. You gave a big, scary speech. Then you were gone. What the hell was that?!" Jamie moves to stand between the two angels.

"Rude, for one thing." Cas tells Hester, looking extremely sincerely sorry.

Jamie clears her throat. "Bad planning."

"Where have you been?" The male angel asks.

"Oh, Inias. Hester, I... I know you want something – answers. I... I wish it could be that… There are still many things I can teach you." He walks out from behind Jamie. "I can offer, um, well, perspective. Here." He points a finger at Hester. "Pull my finger." Hester doesn't move. "Uh... Uh... Meg will – will get another light, and I'll – I'll blow it out again. And, well, this time, it'll be funny, and – and we'll all look back and laugh."

Jamie puts her face in her hand. "Oh Cas…"

Hester stares at Cas, incredulous. "You're insane."

"Hey." Dean is standing in the doorway holding Mark. "Heads up, Sunshine." Dean puts his hand in an angel-banishing sigil he's drawn on the wall outside the room. White light flares and the angels vanish. Jamie hurries toward Dean and grabs Mark. "All angels blown back to their corners. We got like three, four hours tops." He says, walking into the room.

Jamie smacks his shoulder. "You used an angel banishing sigil in the presence of my half angel son!"

"Key word half. Besides Jamie, he's protected." He gestures to the amulet around Mark's neck.

"Not the point, Dean!"

Sam clears his throat and points to the knife Meg is holding. "Meg, where did you get that?"

Meg holds up the angel blade. "A lot of angels died this year."

Kevin Tran, a short Asian boy clutching tightly to the tablet chooses this moment to freak the hell out. "What's happening?! What's happening?!"

Dean looks at Kevin and then at Sam. "What is that?"

Sam shrugs. "It's, uh... Kevin Tran. He's, uh, in advanced placement."

Jamie stares at him for a moment and then smirks. "There's your interpreter."

Kevin is sitting on the bed holding the stone tablet. Dean, Jamie, and Sam have just finished explaining to him about the Leviathans. Kevin looks down at the tablet. "So, these Leviathans – these monsters are real. And angels with wings?"

Sam shrugs. "No. Uh... no wings. No anything."

Jamie clears her throat. "Well…no wings like what you're thinking, anyway."

Dean smirks. "No junk. Junkless." He leans against the window. "So, Kevin, you can, uh, read the chicken scratch on the God rock, huh?"

"Uh, I…"

Dean points to the tablet. "That is back in one piece, I see. And you're saying that there's some sort of a "How to punch Dick" recipe in there somewhere?"

Kevin stares at Dean terrified. "I-I don't know what you're saying, but it seems kind of like an "in case of emergency" note. What did they mean by "prophet"?"

Dean's face falls. "Oh, no." He looks to Sam. "Really?"

Sam nods. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what the angel said."

Jamie shifts her baby unto her other hip. "I told you." She walks over to Dean.

Dean frowns and takes Mark. Kevin sighs. "I don't want to be a prophet."

Jamie rubs her lower back. "No. You don't. Not at all. Trust me, it sucks." She glances at him and then turns away.

Kevin looks over at her. "Are you one too? What did you mean by interpreter?"

Jamie sighs, staring at the wall before turning back around. "The Word of God." She nods to the tablet. "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert." She rolls her eyes at the title that has been repeated to her so many times. She pauses for a moment and then looks straight at Kevin. "But you will tell me what to say."

Meg clears her throat, getting the Winchesters' attention. "Gentlemen, Jamie, we've got to start running and hiding. Or do you want to tangle with those wing nuts twice?"

Dean turns to look at her. "I'm sorry. Did you say "we"?"

Meg stares at him. "I'm on the angels' radar now. You think I don't need a little safety in numbers?"

Dean sighs looking at his siblings. Sam shrugs. Jamie rolls her eyes up at him. He nods. "All right, we'll go to Rufus' cabin. Kid can do his book report there."

The vehicle with several occupants drives along a wet road. Its day again when Dean stops at a gas station. He gets out to put gas in the car. Sam and Meg get out and go inside. Kevin is asleep in the back seat of the vehicle. Jamie is asleep in the seat behind him, her arms around Mark's carrier. She sees two demonic truckers in her dream and opens her eyes, looking around the vehicle before closing them again.

Awhile later it's night again. Dean is driving. Kevin is still asleep in the back seat. He wakes and looks at Meg, gasping in surprise. "Oh, God."

Meg looks at him. "What?"

Kevin sighs. "Nothing. Nothing. Just... my life... my future... " Jamie's phone rings."…my girlfriend... my mom's car."

"Slow down kid." Meg tells him as Jamie's phone continues to ring.

Jamie stirs. She looks around. Meg reaches behind her and pulls the phone out of Jamie's jacket before she can react. She answers it. "Yeah. Yeah, Castiel. It's Meg. Hang on."

Dean looks behind him. "Cas? Where? Where is he?"

Meg holds up a finger. "Shut up." She says to Dean. She listens for a moment. "Jamie, he wants to talk to you." She hands her the phone.

"Cas?"

"I'll stop speaking."

"What? No. No, Cas. You talk." Jamie puts her phone on speaker. "Where are you?"

"I'm in a place called Perth."

"Perth?" Jamie looks up towards Dean and Sam.

"Perth? As in Australia?" Dean asks.

"What dogs?" Jamie looks at her brother. "He says he's surrounded by unhappy dogs."

"They're chasing a rabbit around…"

Realization comes over Jamie's face. "Oh. Okay."

Meg nods. "He's at a dog track in Perth."

"I'm surrounded by large unhappy dogs."

Meg chuckles, leaning over to speak into Jamie's phone. "Yeah, they're unhappy 'cause the rabbit's fake."

Jamie pulls her phone back. "Listen Cas, we're on highway 94, north of St. Cloud, Minnesota, just passing mile marker 79."

Castiel materializes in the back seat between Meg and Kevin. Kevin yells in surprise.

Meg smiles. "Kevin, this is Castiel."

"You're one of the angels?"

Castiel touches a finger to Kevin's nose. "Boop. Jamie, are you hurt?" He twists around in his seat to look at her.

She shakes her head. "I'm fine."

Meg clears her throat. "Hey, what about me?"

Castiel looks at her. "Oh I'm sorry, are you hurt Meg?" He smiles.

"Shut up."

Castiel looks at Jamie who smirks. He moves over Kevin and stares at Mark. "He sleeps a lot. Angels don't sleep."

Jamie smiles. "But human babies do. And he's half human."

"Interesting."

Dean glances back at everyone through the mirror. "It's absolutely fascinating. Now Cas, what happened back there? Who were those guys?"

"They're from the Garrison – my old Garrison. Looks like Hester's taken over. We were assigned to watch the earth. Often, it was boring. The wars were very boring and the sex – you know, the repetition. Anyway, I was, uh... I was their captain. Isn't that strange?"

Sam turns around. "Cas, why are they pissed at us now?"

Cas ignores him and turns to Jamie. "You know, those racing dogs were absolutely miserable. They can only think in ovals."

Meg tugs on Cas's trench coat. "Castiel, you're gonna piss off the boss."

Dean sneers. "Cas, don't make me pull this car over! Why are angels after us?" He yells.

"Are you angry? Why are you angry?" Cas frowns.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "He pissed off the boss."

Dean stops. "No, I-I'm... Please, can we just stay on target?" He looks at Cas.

"There is no reason for anger. They're only following protocol. If the Word of God is revealed, a keeper of the Word will awaken, like this" He touches KEVIN's nose. "hot potato right here."

Kevin slaps his hand away. "Please stop that."

"Anyway, Garrison code dictates you take the keeper to the desert to learn the Word away from men." Cas explains.

Jamie perks up. "Oh that's why they call me the voice crying out in the desert."

Meg glances back at her. "For us non geeks?"

Jamie gives her a look. "Kevin goes into the desert to learn the Word, and once he learns it I will be called to proclaim it."

Dean sighs. "What kind of sense does that make? You two have to tell us now so that we can use it."

"That's God and his shiny red apples." Cas comments.

Kevin looks horrified. "I can't live in the desert. I-I'm applying to Princeton!"

Dean sighs. "Okay, you know what? Screw the Garrison. We need the tablet to end Sick Roman's "Soylent Us" crap."

Cas shrugs, leaning forward. "If you want the Word, you'll have to duck Hester and her soldiers."

Sam stares at him. "Yeah, you're in our corner, right, Cas?"

"No, I don't fight anymore. I watch the bees." He looks out the window and smiles.

Jamie shakes her head. "Castiel." Dean looks pointedly at Sam who sighs.

They finally make it to the cabin. Castiel is drawing a sigil on the wall in chalk. Jamie is standing behind him with Mark in her arms. Sam walks past holding a bucket of blood. "Let's leave off angel-proofing sigils or I'll be expelled, too."

Jamie nods. "And I don't want to chance Mark getting hurt." The amulet around his neck is still glowing. Jamie picks up it up and stares at it.

"As long as we're invisible to your Garrison buddies, it works for me." Sam tells him.

Dean and Kevin walk downstairs to the basement. "I'm sure you're pretty hungry, so once we get settled in upstairs, we'll get some dinner going."

Kevin comes to a halt at the foot of the stairs. Dean clears a space on the table, which is covered with knives. "This looks like a sex-torture dungeon. Is this a sex-torture dungeon?"

Dean picks up a scythe. He sighs, frustrated. "No, this is not a sex-torture... Get over here. Sit down and read, would you?"

Upstairs Jamie is playing with Mark on the floor. She uses her telekinesis to lift her keys in the air and move them in a circle. Mark watches them fascinated. Sam sits down near Castiel who is watching Jamie and Mark. "He's grown a lot since the last time I saw him too."

Castiel glances at him and then back at Jamie and Mark. "When Jamie became pregnant I swore I would watch over her and the baby. I failed. Dean had to " He looks down. "fill the role that should have been mine."

Sam smiles. "I don't think he minded."

Cas looks up. "I wanted it to be different…but I don't know how to be a father."

Sam nods. "It's not like you had much of a role model to look up to. But you're here now."

Cas sighs, playing with a ceramic rabbit. "You seem troubled. Of course, that's a primary aspect of your personality, so I sometimes ignore it."

Sam sighs. "Okay. Um... right now I'm just wondering about you."

Cas looks at him. "What about me?" He pauses. "You're worried about the burden I lifted from you." He smiles.

Sam looks down. "I think I was done for." He says quietly. He looks up at Cas. "Do you see Lucifer?"

Cas frowns a little. "I did at first. But that was... It was a projection of yours, I think, sort of an aftertaste. Now I more see... well, everything." He smiles. "It's funny. I was – I was done for, too. The weight of all my mistakes, all those lives and souls lost, I... I couldn't take it, either. I was…" He sighs and then smiles again. "I was lost until I took on your pain. It's strange to think that that helped, but –"

Sam interrupts him. "I know you never did anything but try to help. I realize that, Cas, and I'm grateful. We're all grateful. And we're gonna help you get better, okay? No matter what it takes."

Cas gives him a weird look. "What do you mean, "better"?"

In the basement Dean is asleep in a chair and Kevin is writing at the table. His hands start to shake and his vision blurs. He stands up, hyperventilating.

"Kevin." Dean says with his eyes still closed.

"This is all too much. What's happened to my life? I'm just a kid from Michigan. I didn't want to be a Word-keeper!"

Dean sighs, opening his eyes and getting up. "Looks like we're brown-baggin' it." Hepicks up a brown paper bag. Jamie brings Mark downstairs to them. Dean smiles and takes Mark.

"I am not prepared to factor the supernatural into my…" Jamie puts the brown paper bag over Kevin's face. "World view."

Jamie rubs his back. "You're okay."

"Okay, there we go." Dean holds Mark on his hip and pats Kevin on the back. "That's it. That's it. Just breathe. Take it easy." Kevin holds onto the bag and breathes into it. "Oh, I don't know, man. What can I say? You've been chosen. And it sucks. Believe me. There's no use asking "why me?" 'Cause the angels – they don't care. I think maybe they just don't have the equipment to care. Seems like when they try, it just... breaks them apart." He stares down at Mark, sadly.

Jamie sighs. Dean kisses Mark's forehead and looks at Jamie. Kevin looks at Dean. "I just want to be the first Asian-American President of the United States."

Dean smiles. "Then do your homework." He sits back down with Mark in his lap and puts his feet up. Jamie goes and sits down on the stairs.

Meg enters the cabin later that night and is brought to a sudden halt by a devil's trap on the floor. Sam turns on the lights. Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Jamie are there. "Didn't expect to see you back." Sam tells her.

"Yeah, not without the King's army." Dean gestures towards Meg. "Knife."

"Now." Jamie demands.

Meg hands Dean the demon killing knife. "Typical. I save our bacon, and you're sitting here, waiting by a devil's trap. Seriously, I just killed two of Crowley's men. I could have gone the other way on that."

Jamie smirks. "How considerate of you."

Cas walks forward. He glances down at the blade. "It's true, incidentally. There's other demons' blood on that blade."

Sam turns to Meg. Meg sighs. "Look, I'm simpler than you think. I've figured one thing out about this world – just one, pretty much. You find a cause, and you serve it. Give yourself over, and it orders your life. Lucifer and Yellow Eyes – their mission was it for me."

Dean gives her a look. "So, what? We should trust you because you wanted to free Satan from Hell?"

Meg turns to him. "I'm talking "cause," douchebag, as in reason to get up in the morning. Obviously, these things shift over time. We learn, we grow. Now, for me currently, the cause is bringing down the King. And I know we'll need help to do it."

"Crowley ain't the problem this year." Dean shoots back.

"For once." Jamie mutters.

Meg rolls her eyes. "When are you gonna get it? Crowley's always the problem. He's just waiting for the right moment to strike. I know what I'm supposed to do. And it isn't screw with Sam, Jamie, and Dean or lose the only angel who'd go to bat for me."

Jamie sighs. Dean looks at her and then at Sam. Sam breaks the devil's trap with his foot.

"This is good – harmony and communication. Now our only problem is Hester." Jamie turns and looks at Castiel. "Well, here, we're hidden from the Garrison, but when you killed a demon, you put out a pretty clear beacon."

"Dean!" Jamie grabs unto her brother. Meg goes and stands on the other side of Cas.

"We need better angel-proofing _now_!" She yells. Just then the door breaks and bursts open. Hester, Inais, and a different male angel appear in the room. Dean, Jamie, Cas, and Sam turn.

"You took the Prophet from us?!" Hester yells.

Cas shrugs. "I'm – I'm sorry?"

Heaster stares at him in disgust. "You have fallen in every way imaginable."

Inais sighs, looking at Cas. "Please, Castiel. We have to follow the code. Help us do our work."

Dean looks at Inais. "He can't help you. He can't help anybody."

Jamie nods. "He can't even help himself."

Hester looks at the Winchesters. "Silence Prophetess." Jamie narrows her eyes. "We don't need his help... or his permission." She nods to Inais, who nods back. There is the sound of angel wings and Inais disappears. "The Keeper goes to the desert tonight." He reappears with Kevin.

"No!" Jamie steps toward Inais.

Dean also steps forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back off. We're actually trying to clean up one of your angel's messes! You know that."

Cas nods. "He's right. An angel brought the Leviathan back into this world, and – and they begged him. They begged him not to do it."

He looks toward Dean and Jamie. Jamie frowns. Dean turns to Hester. "Look, just give us some time, okay? We will take care of your Prophet."

Hester stares at him. "Why should _we_ give _you_ anything... After everything you have taken from us? The very touch of you corrupts. When Castiel first laid a hand on you in Hell, he was lost!" She cries. Dean stares her stone faced, but Jamie squeezes her eyes shut at the mention of Dean's time in hell. "For that, you're going to pay." Hester walks towards Dean. Jamie glances toward the bedroom where Mark is and then towards Dean. She pulls Dean back at step and holds him behind her. Cas grabs Hester's hands and turns her away from Dean.

"Please. They're the ones we were put here to protect."

Hester shakes her head."No, Castiel." She looks at Jamie. "And you, Prophetess. Don't think we're blind to the abomination you bred." Dean and Jamie swallow hard at the off-hand remark she makes against their son. "You are also fallen."

Jamie narrows her eyes. "Fallen?" Malice penetrates her voice. She opens her hands and fire erupts in her palms. "Ego vox clamantis in deserto. Ecce manum domini!"

Fire surges out of her hands. Hester's face is badly burned. Hester throws Jamie across the room, knocking her unconscious.

"Jamie!" Cas yells.

Hester backhands Castiel and he falls to the ground. Inais and the other male angel each hold up two fingers to stop Dean and Sam from going to Castiel's aid. "No more madness!" Hester punches Cas. "No more promises!" She punches him again. "No more new Gods!" She punches him repeatedly and then holds up an angel knife.

"Hester! No!" Inais grabs Hester's arm. "Please! There's so few of us left."

She punches Inais in the face with the hand holding the knife. Jamie wakes up. "You wanted free will. Now _I'm_ making the choices."

"No!" Jamie yells holding her hand up.

Hester raises the knife. White light blazes from her chest and she falls to the ground. Meg has stabbed her. "What? Someone had to."

Inais heals Jamie and helps her up. She nods to him. Dean brings Mark to her and puts him in her arms. Mark looks up at Inais and giggles. Inais looks down at the baby and then to Castiel. "These are strange times."

Cas smiles. "I think they've always been."

Inais puts a hand on Cas's arm. "I wish you'd come with us."

Castiel puts his arm around Jamie. "Oh, I'm not part of the Garrison anymore, Inias. I'm sorry."

Dean walks over to Sam and Kevin, who are sitting at the table. Kevin gives Sam the notebook in which he has translated the stone tablet. "Thanks, Kevin. Not a lot of people could have handled this."

"You doing all right there, "chosen one"?" Dean asks him.

Kevin nods. "Yeah."

"Are you ready, Kevin Tran?" Two male angels each put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin holds the stone tablet. "Bring the Keeper to his home. We can watch over him there." The three angels and Kevin disappear.

Dean turns to Sam. "I couldn't find Meg anywhere."

Castiel and Jamie walk over. "Yes, well, she enjoys laying low." Cas tells him.

Jamie smirks. "I'm sure she'll turn up again soon." She gestures to the tablet. "Tell me that stone says how to kill the Leviathan."

Sam is reading the notebook. "Here." He points. "Leviathan cannot be slain but by a bone of a righteous mortal washed in the three bloods of the fallen."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Oh that's all?"

"Uh... It says we need to start with the blood of a fallen angel."

The Winchesters all turns to Cas. "Well, you know me." He holds out a small bottle. "I'm always happy to bleed for the Winchesters." He hands the bottle, which is now filled with blood, to Dwan. Jamie looks at him and smiles.

"Thank you, Cas."

Castiel leans in as if to kiss her, but she pulls back and clears her throat. "You two need to go somewhere safe." He tells her, pointing to Mark.

Jamie nods slightly. Dean and Sam go over to Jamie. Mark whimpers reaching toward Dean. Dean takes him out of Jamie's arms and hugs him. "There's my boy. I'm gonna miss you too." Dean kisses his forehead and hands him to Sam.

"See you when this is all over." Sam puts him back in Jamie's arms. The siblings say goodbye to each other. Castiel puts his fingers on Jamie's forehead and she and Mark disappear.

"What are you gonna do, Cas?" Dean asks.

"I don't know." He smiles. "Isn't that amazing?" He disappears.

Sam goes back to reading the notebook. "Well, let's get to work." Dean claps Sam on the arm.

In a mountainous cabin, Jamie sits up in bed and gasps, her eyes wide. Castiel is standing over her. He looks at her questioningly. She looks terrified.


	48. 723 Survival of the Fittest

Jamie and Mark are standing at the door to Rufus's cabin when Dean walks out. He puts his hands on his sister's shoulders. Jamie nods over her shoulder and then takes Mark inside. Dean walks over to a vehicle parked in front of the cabin. Castiel is sitting in the driver's seat.

Jamie walks into the cabin carrying Mark. Sam greets her. She smiles and then frowns, acknowledging Meg. A few minutes later Dean and Cas walk inside. "Now, you understand I don't participate in aggressive activity." Cas tells Dean. He picks up a bone and sniffs it. Jamie cringes. "Mm. Sister Mary Constant. Good choice."

"Why'd you go to Meg, Cas?" Dean asks.

"When I left, I wanted to observe the flowers – and fruit. Flowers come first, obviously. But I heard nothing from them."

"You heard nothing from who?" Sam asks.

"The Garrison." Jamie and Cas answer at the same time. Jamie takes Mark into the bedroom.

Sam watches her go and then turns back at Cas. "What happened to the Garrison?"

"Well, finally, the silence was deafening, and Jamie was waking up with nightmares, so I went to look... to the home of the Prophet. You know, Leviathan can kill angels. There's a reason why Father locked them in Purgatory. They're the Piranha that would eat the whole aquarium. They're gone. The entire Garrison – dead. If there's anyone left at all, they're in hiding."

Dean looks confused, and perhaps a little worried. He walks towards Cas. "Um, I'm sorry. If the angels are dead, where's Kevin?"

Cas gets a look. "I could steal them from their cages, the monkeys. But where would I put them all?"

"Hey!" Dean claps his hands. "Focus. Is Kevin alive?"

"I don't want to fight." Cas says, very seriously.

"No, I'm not –" Dean pauses and then says very calmly "we're worried." He smiles.

Jamie comes out of the room. "They took him." She says, looking at both of her brothers. "But he's alive."

Castiel grins. "I felt such responsibility, but it's in your hands now."

Dean shakes his head. "Wait. Hold on a freakin' minute."

Cas turns away. "I feel much better."

Meg notices a bowl by the sink. "Guys, what's all that?" She points to the bowl. It's spell paraphernalia. Jamie walks over and looks at the bowl. "That's a demon summoning spell."

Sam nods. "We called Crowley."

Meg whirls around in horror. "You _what?"_

"Don't worry. He never showed." Dean turns back to Cas.

"What do you mean never –"

Dean turns to her and puts his arms out. "Do you see him anywhere? He stood us up."

Meg swallows with difficulty. "Well, I'm sorry about that, but I'm outie. He could still sh–"

"Show up at any time." Crowley appears behind them. "Hello, boys. Jamie. Sorry I'm late. This _is_ an embarrassment of riches." He turns to Meg. "Stay, won't you. There's really nowhere to run." Meg runs for the door, but Crowley appears in front of her, blocking her exit. "Don't even think of smoking out, pussycat. I've got eyes all over the place."

"Leave her be."

Jamie closes her eyes and sighs, staying in her position near the door to the bedroom. Crowley turns and looks at Cas. "Castiel." He walks forward. "When last we spoke, you – well, enslaved me. I'm confused. Why aren't you dead?"

Cas has a deer in the headlights look. "I... don't know."

Crowley chuckles darkly. "Well, do you want to be? 'Cause I can help with that."

Jamie and Dean both move forward. Jamie goes to Cas' side and Dean inches in front of them. "Crowley if you take one step towards him…" Jamie's eyes narrow.

"All right, enough." Dean demands.

Crowley shakes his dead, glaring at the siblings. "It's enough when I say. I came here to help you. I find out you've been lying to me, harboring an angel, and not just any angel – the one angel I most want to crush between my teeth."

Meg snickers. "Oh, so you can crush angels now, huh?" She smirks.

Crowley growls, turning back to her. "You bore me. You know that? You have no sense of poetry." He turns back to Cas, renewed anger in his eyes. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Cas looks at the ground and starts to ramble. "Well, I'm still, uh, honing my communication strategy. I haven't even been back to Heaven. I-I keep thinking there are no insects up there, but here we have..." Dean smirks when Crowley looks at him confused. "trillions. You know, they're making honey and silk and... miracles, really."

"What are you talking about?" Crowley asks slowly.

Cas grins. "Um, preferring insects to angels, I guess. Here. I can offer a token, if you like." He holds up a plastic bag containing a yellow substance. "It's honey. I-I collected it myself."

Jamie and Sam look at each other. Sam looks terried. Jamie shrugs and gently pats Cas's shoulder, looking away. Crowley and Dean exchange another look. "You're off your rocker." Cas turns away. "He's off his rocker – is that it?" Crowley notices a glass of whiskey. "Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"

Jamie turns to Crowley. "You don't have to sleep with him."

Crowley helps himself to a glass of whiskey on the table. Dean sighs. "Look, did you come here to, uh, donkey-punch" Crowley sniffs the whiskey and puts the glass back down. "your old grudges or to help us end Dick? Pick a battle!"

Crowley shrugs looking at Dean. "Well, I'm vexed. I'd like to do both. But where's the fun in clobbering a ball of wet fur? Text me when Sparkles here retrieves his marbles, I suppose. Meanwhile... " he takes a vial of blood out of his jacket pocket "a prezzie."

Sam steps forward. "Really? Just boxed-up and ready to go?"

Crowley grins. "I'm a model of efficiency."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Is that right? Then why were you late?"

He shrugs. "Dick had me in a devil trap. He's not an idiot. He knows what you three are after."

Jamie, Sam, and Dean look at each other in shock. Sam swallows. "So what did he offer you?"

Crowley shakes the vial. "A fair deal. In exchange for giving you the wrong blood. It's demon, but is it mine?"

Dean and Sam both turn back to Jamie at the same time. Jamie walks forward, crossing her arms. "You're not going to lie with the prophetess in the room. You're smarter than that."

Crowley smirks, looking at her. "You know I haven't seen you all season. Not since…ahh you gave birth to the little half breed. How is he? Is he here? I'd love to pop in on my little…godson." Jamie instinctively looks toward the bedroom. Crowley catches her look. Jamie gestures to Dean. He catches her terror and narrows his eyes, moving forward.

"You even think about touching my son…" He sneers.

"Your son? I see." The demon chuckles, playing with the vial. Not that he didn't suspect that Dean has been protecting something smaller and more precious than the world in this last year. "It's my blood. Real deal."

"And why should we trust you?" Dean retorts.

Crowley leans back in exasperation. "Good God, don't. Never trust anyone. A lesson I learned from my last business partner." He looks at Cas.

Dean casts a sideways glance at the angel before returning his attention to the demon. "All right. Give us the blood."

"Certainly. Oh, bonus. Meg, I'm gonna scoop you up, take you home, and roast you till you're jerky." Cas starts to move towards Crowley. Jamie grabs his trenchcoat and yanks him back. Crowley sees this. He grins. "But not... yet. Cas can have you for now. Hilariously, it seems he'd be upset at losing you. Much to Jamie's displeasure, I see. And she and the boys need Cas to get Dick. Don't they, Cas?"

He looks away. "Oh, I – I don't fight anymore."

Crowley shakes his head. "Come on. Given the particulars of your enemy, sadly, you're vital." He tosses the vial of blood to Sam, and disappears. Jamie runs to the bedroom, Dean on her heels. They both sigh in relief, watching Mark asleep on the bed. Dean puts his arm around her and half-hugs her.

Castiel immediately walks to Meg in concern. "Are you alright?" She swallows her fear and puts on the mask, nodding.

Sam brings the blood over to the table where the other ingredients are laying. Dean walks over and grabs the notebook. He opens it and starts reading. Sam looks over his shoulder while he assembles the spell. Jamie walks over and holds her hand over one of the candles. It lights automatically. "Guess I won't need a lighter anymore." Sam scoffs softly, giving her a smile. Dean however frowns.

"Well, one thing's for sure – we only get one shot." Dean puts the notebook down. Sam holds the vial of Crowley's blood over the bowl, which has the other blood in it. Jamie stands in front of them, putting down a second bowl containing the bone. "This thing don't reload." He says gravely, eyeing both siblings.

Sam looks at him. "You think Crowley's, uh..."

Jamie pipes up. "Double-crossing us?"

"Yeah."

Dean shrugs. "You've got to figure who he wants dead more – us or Dick."

Sam nods. "Depends what Dick offered. Here we go." He pours the blood from the vial into the bowl. "Okay. Um… " He picks up the bowl. "so do we, uh..."

Dean looks at him. "Uh, there's no magic words – nothing." He looks at Jamie.

She shrugs. "We just... just go."

Sam nods. "All right, then." He pours the blood from the bowl onto the Sister Mary Constant's bone. The siblings wait, but nothing happens.

Dean looks around. "Where's all the thunder and lightning?"

Sam shrugs. "Uh... _maybe_ it worked?"

Jamie stares at the bowl. "Um…I think it worked."

Dean shakes his head. "Awesome." The siblings hear the sound of angel wings and a hand appears on Dean's shoulder, startling all three siblings. The hand belongs to Cas, who is holding plates of sandwiches.

"So, none of this should cause you any ill effect. I went to a little farm in Normandy for the wheat and the lettuce and tomato and – and I thoroughly examined and comforted the pig before I... slaughtered it for the ham. Here." He holds a plate out to Dean. "You need your strength."

Dean takes the plate. "Thanks, Cas."

Cas holds another plate to Jamie. "For the beautiful, wonderful, amazing mother." He grins.

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Yeah." She takes the plate.

Cas holds the last plate out to Sam, but Sam doesn't take it. "Cas, why was Crowley so certain that you need to come with us?"

Cas looks away. "Crowley's wrong. I'll be waiting right here." He's obviously laying, but he tries to smile and cover it up. "But please – accept this sandwich as a gesture of solidarity."

Sam looks uneasily down at the plate. Jamie picks up the sandwhich and then puts it back down. Mark's wails split the air. Dean and Jamie both look towards the bedroom. "Mark's hungry." She puts her plate down and hurries to the bedroom. Cas looks sadly at her abandoned plate. Dean sees this.

"I'll…uh…take this to her." He gives Cas a smile, picking up Jamie's plate and walking towards the bedroom. Sam looks at Cas and forces a smile.

Dean is sitting with his hands clasped, looking at Bobby's flask. Sam is on the phone. Jamie stands behind Dean. He reaches up and grabs her hand. She moves over and sits next to him.

"Okay, thanks." Sam hangs up. Meg is back, she's sitting in the corner drinking a beer. "She's fine. Checking out of the hospital tonight."

Castiel walks in. "Well, that's positive." He holds out a plate containing a sandwich to Sam.

Meg looks at the boys. "Tell me again why you turned tail for some maid." Cas puts a sandwich in front of Dean. "You were right there."

"Shut up, Meg." Dean says firmly.

"Because Dick made more Dicks." Castiel, Jamie, and Dean look at Sam. "He must've kept a chunk of the original Dick Roman somewhere. Uh, they'd all have to touch it."

Castiel hurries to the sink to begin drying dishes. Mark is sitting on the floor and Cas hands him dried dishes to play with. Dean leans over to look at him. "Hey, shifty, what's your problem?"

Cas looks up. "Do we need a cat? Doesn't this place feel one species short? Or maybe a dog? I'm sure Mark would love a dog."

"You got anything to say on the topic of Dicks?" Dean asks, noticing Cas's uneasy demeanor. "Crowley was pretty sure that you could help."

"I can't help. You understand? I can't." He declares. "I destroyed... everything, and I will destroy everything again. Can we please just leave it at that?"

Jamie squeezes her brother's shoulder. "Dean."

"No." He gets up. "No, we can't." He walks toward Cas.

"Dean..." Sam says softly.

Dean ignores him. "We can't leave it. You let these friggin' things in. So you don't get to make a sandwich. You don't get a damned cat. Nobody cares that you're broken, Cas. Clean up your mess!" He yells.

Castiel puts down the dish he is holding and walks over to Dean. "You know... we should play Twister."

Sam and Dean look at each other. Castiel disappears. Jamie stares at the spot he vacated. "Castiel! Damnit." She picks Mark up from the floor.

Meg chuckles. "Nice. You scared off the Empire's only hope."

Dean sighs and turns at her with a glare. "Meaning?"

Meg grins. "It occur to you every one of those things was in Cas?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Enough with the sarcasm, Meg." She turns to Sam and Dean. "Cas knows them. He can see past the meatsuits."

Sam nods understanding. "So, he'll be able to spot the real... fake Dick Roman."

Meg nods. "Gold star, sugarpants. Too bad he's Fruit Loops. You might've had a chance."

Dean hears a noise behind him and turns. Castiel is playing Twister on the floor. Mark giggles and reaches out towards him. Jamie and Dean stare a look.

A while later, Dean is looking at footage from the Sucrocorp office on the laptop. "There's no real point in looking for a tell. They all downloaded Dick's brain. They've all got the same tells."

Sam looks over his shoulder. "All right, then maybe the question is, what would the real Dick be doing?"

Bobby appears. Jamie walks in from the bedroom. "Bobby." Dean turns around, startled. Sam looks in Bobby's direction.

"Is that the best you can do? Idjits."

Sam sighs. "Bobby. We didn't know if you'd, uh –"

Bobby looks at him wide-eyed. "Well, you should've. You got the flask. Dumb. You should've burned it right off."

Sam frowns. Dean shakes his head. "Bobby –"

"I'm still jonesing to go back... grab some poor bastard, kamikaze 'em going after Dick. It's bad." He rubs his shoulder, grabbing at it like a addict coming off of withdrawl. Jamie swallows hard and closes her eyes.

The laptop plays a news interview with Dick Roman. "_America is for go-getters. Folks who get off their butts and make it happen."_

Jamie sighs. "Dean, turn that off."

Dean closes the laptop and gets up, staring at Bobby. Bobby walks forward. "Let's be real." He turns to Sam. "I damn near killed you. And that woman."

Sam shakes his head. "It wasn't your fault, Bobby – not really."

Bobby shakes his head. His voice is full of despair. "Right. That's just what ghosts turn into. Well I really bet the farm I could outsmart that."

Dean walks over and puts his hands on Jamie's shoulders. Her face glistens with tears. He squeezes her shoulders and finally looks at Bobby. "So, what's it feel like?"

Bobby looks at him. "What? Going vengeful?" He looks everywhere but Dean. "It's an itch you can't scratch out." He turns to Sam and his voice is full of desperation, he sounds like he's going to cry. "Look... I'm done." Sam looks away. Bobby looks at Jamie. "Go get Dick. But don't do it 'cause you think it'll scratch the itch. Do it 'cause it's the job." He turns to Dean. "And when it's your time... go."

Jamie nods, wiping her eyes. She remembers something Dean said to her. Years ago. Back right after their father died. "What's dead should stay dead." She whispers, looking at Bobby. Her brothers stare at him sadly, both with tears in their eyes.

Dean readies a fire. Jamie is holding Mark who is watching the flames with interest. Dean, Sam, and Jamie stare at their surrogate uncle. Jamie stiffens her sobs. Bobby, however, looks hopeful. "Here's to... running into you three on the other side. Only... not too soon. All right?" He turns to look at Mark. Jamie brings him closer. "Wide eyed little nipper, aint ya? Just like his Mama." He gestures to Dean's necklace around his neck. "Your idjit uncles are gonna raise you to be a great hunter some day. Be good to your Ma, understand?"

Jamie wipes her eyes, placing her lips on her son's head. "We love you, Bobby." She whispers. Dean tosses the flask minus its leather cover onto the coals. It slowly melts. The light from Bobby burning up is reflected on Dean, Jamie and Sam's faces. The flask continues to melt and the light goes out. Dean, Jamie, and Sam look sadly at each other. Castiel watches from the stairs.

Later that night Jamie is sitting on the bed, watching Mark sleep. Dean stands in the doorway. She can feel him watching her. After a moment, she gets up and walks over to him. "This isn't going to end well."

"I know. I can feel it too." His voice is grave. His sister looks at him with tears in her eyes. He can't bare to see her cry. He curses himself for putting her through this, through all of this. And wonders if his father wasn't right all along. If she had been better off forgetting who she was and where she came from.

She hears his thoughts and shakes her head, casting his doubts aside. This is who they are, and neither of them can change it. This bond, this love between them is both their blessing and their curse. It binds them on earth, in hell, and in heaven, it endures all things, and it cannot be unbroken. She opens her mouth and softly begins to sing. "Fare thee well my own true love. Farewell for a while." She laughs at the stupidity of the song, but it softens some of the tension.

He swallows with difficultly. "Im going away, but Ill be back, Though I go 10,000 miles. 10,000 miles,  
my own true love. 10,000 miles or more." He takes her into his arms. "The rocks may melt, and the seas may burn if I should not return." The feeling of dread is knotted in his stomach now, its worse when he sees his sister, so terrified that she trembles in his grip.

Jamie moves her hair out of her face as she leans against his chest. It takes her a minute. "Oh dont you see, that lonesome dove sitting on an ivy tree." The tears come swiftly and she clenches Dean just a little tighter. "She's weeping for her own true love, as I shall weep for mine. Oh come ye back, my own true love, and stay a while with me."

His voice is hoarse as his own tears starts to flow. "If I had a friend all on this earth. You've been a friend to me."

She buries her face in his shirt. "What do you want me to do?"

He laces his fingers through her hair, pulling her head back so that their eyes meet. He stares into those sapphire eyes, as deep and dark as his own emeralds. "Take care of our son. Stay alive for him." He pushes her back and walks away, not allowing himself to look back. The time for softness has past. He can no longer be the brother, the father, even the lover. Instead he has to be the warrior, the hunter, and so he doesn't look back.

She understands, but she cannot separate her roles anymore. She must be both hunter and mother, warrior and sister and lover. It's the only way to ensure her son survives. And so she watches him go, heart heavy and eyes mourning.

Later Jamie is again watching Mark sleep. It's late afternoon now. She knows that the deed has been done. She can feel it. She looks up and sees a white light coming from outside the door. She glances towards Mark, carefully eyeing the devil's trap by the bed, and then steps outside the bedroom. A ghostly figure of a girl with strawberry blonde hair is hovering in front of her. Jamie takes a step back.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Famous last words. What do you want?"

The light fades. The girl looks strangely like Dean and Jamie realizes she's Emma, the Amazonian woman's daughter. "I'm Dean's daughter. I've come to tell you that Dean and Castiel have been sent to Purgatory and they are in danger. My father needs your help."

She can't allow herself to react to the news. Though she knows in her heart that her brother has again left this plane, the threat is still before her. Her eyes narrow in suspicion. "Why are you helping him?"

The girl doesn't seemed shock by her suspicions. She's strangely calm. "Because my father is a righteous man, pity was taken on my soul. It resides in Purgatory, waiting for reincarnation."

"You need Dean to get your soul…yeah that really sounds noble."

"You don't understand. My soul has been cleansed; it needs only a womb to grow in. And my father needs help. If he does not escape Purgatory, he will die."

"I get that. I'll find Dean. But I don't trust you; I'm certainly not going to find a womb for you." Emma disappears. "Hey!" Jamie looks around and sighs. If Dean is still alive, perhaps her power can reach him. Perhaps it's grown strong enough to sense him as she was able to sense Sam. She closes her eyes. "Dean…" Dean looks around the dark, desolate forest and hears the rustling of the watching monsters. "Dean? Dean!"

Dean whirls around, away from the predatory eyes that seem ready to devour him. "Jamie?" He calls into the darkness, looking for the source of his sister's voice.

She opens her eyes, now glowing in the darkness. She can see the path ahead, as clear as day and surely as if it was laid before her own feet. "Follow my voice if you want to live, Dean."


	49. 801 We Need to Talk about Kevin

"Dean!" Jamie sits straight up in bed, gasping softly and looking around. Mark is lying beside her, crying. Jamie looks down at him and takes a breath before picking up him and getting up. "Shh." She says softly, trying to calm him down. She moves her blonde hair away from her face and looks down at her son. He looks like a mixture of Dean and Castiel, with bright blue eyes and dark hair that sticks out in every direction.

"Daddy." He says through his tears. "Daddy."

"I know, I miss him too." She says, kissing him as she walks around with him.

"Daddy." Jamie stops, looking down at him. "Daddy." He whines softly in her arms. "Gone."

"Yes, he's gone, Mark." A tear rolls down her creek. Mark sniffs, looking up at her. He cries too. "But he will be back. He'll be back and he will take care of us."

Dean opens the door to Rufus's cabin. Jamie is standing there, Mark sitting at her feet. "Jamie?" He asked softly. She grins. She starts to take a step but he stops her. She nods in understanding and walks over to the table. She picks up a bottle of holy water and drinks it, before tossing it to Dean. He drinks and Jamie sprays him with a squeeze bottle of Borax. He spits and looks at her. She sprays the Borax on her hand and then wipes it on her jeans. He nods approvingly and then takes out Ruby's knife. He cuts his arm and then holds the knife out to Jamie. She flicks her wrist and the knife flies into her hand. She slices her arm and shows Dean. He nods.

"Dean!" Jamie rushes over to him and hugs him. Dean hugs her back. She gasps for breath and so does he as they hold each other tightly. At that moment a red light rises out of Dean and settles at Jamie's stomach and she gasps, pulling away and gripping her stomach. Dean's eyes widen and they stare at each other. "Dean." Jamie says softly.

"Is that…" Dean takes a step toward her. She nods slowly. Realization overtakes him and feels a familiar pull. He puts his hand on her stomach. "My daughter." He breaths.

She closes her eyes. When she opens them she's standing on the shoreline. The beach is deserted save two teenagers and a woman. The teenagers are playing in the water, and the woman is sitting on a blanket watching them. Jamie walks closer, the woman looks almost exactly like Mary, but her hair is strawberry blonde, grown out down her back and she has laugh lines. She is shocked for a moment before she realizes it's just a vision, and she turns to look at the teenagers in the water. The boy is tall, about Sam's height, but he's broad, built like Dean, with messy dark hair. At first glance Jamie whispers "Adam?" but as she walks closer, she sees his eyes are as blue as Castiel's and he has her piercing stare. "I can't tell if he looks more like Dean, Sam, or Cas." She says outloud. She catches sight of Dean's amulet hanging around his neck. The girl stops splashing Mark and walks over to her.

"Yeah Uncle Sam always called him their magical gay offspring." She says to Jamie, whose startled that she's talking to her. She looks the girl up and down. She's taller than Jamie, but they're built about the same. She has shoulder length strawberry blonde hair just darker then Jamie's own, and her eyes are green like Dean and Sam's. She's wearing Jamie's silver hunter bracelet.

"Emma?" Jamie asks, tilting her head as she takes the girl in.

"Emmy, actually." She answers. "Or Mary Emilia if you're mad at me." She says softly.

"Mary Emilia?" Jamie puts her hand on her stomach, glancing down before looking back up at her. "Who came up with that one?"

"Uncle Sam."

"Guess I didn't want to leave him out of the messed up love triangle, huh?" Emmy laughs, tossing her bangs back from her face. Jamie smiles a little, glancing over her shoulder towards the older version of herself. "So everything turns out okay, then? You're okay?"

"Well if you don't count the visions and the extreme inferiority complex that comes with having a brother whose half angel…" Emmy looks at Jamie and smiles. "I'm fine, Mom. Everything is gonna be fine."

"Our daughter." Jamie says after a moment, coming out of her vision. "She has your eyes." Dean smiles, putting his hand on her stomach. He wraps his arms around her, emotion thick in his voice. "God it's good to see you." He can sense the life now within her. He's forgotten the pain of losing Castiel. He's forgotten the year spent in purgatory, as dangerous and painful as hell. His hardened soul is softened in the moment when he embraces his sister and feels the daughter he thought lost forever. He pulls back and looks past her. His eyes fall on the brown haired toddler on the floor, whose staring intently at him. "Mark!" He grins. "There's my boy."

Mark pushes himself up from the floor and toddles over to Dean, who squats down with his arms out. "Daddy!" Mark giggles, reaching out to him. His grace swells up within him and he recognizes Dean. He knows this man. He knows the face. He remembers the voice that sang to him while he slumbered in his mother's womb. He remembers the arms that gripped him tight when infant fears kept sleep away. Most of all he remembers his eyes. The eyes that were always keeping protective watch over him. "Daddy!" Dean smiles, his eyes filling with tears as he catches the brunette boy in his arms. "Miss oo." He mutters, touching his face.

He cannot believe their son is two years old. Instantly the guilt sinks in. He's lost a whole year of his boy's life. His son is growing up behind his back, and he'll soon have a daughter as well. His heart swells with the need to protect these creatures, the offspring of his own flesh. "Hey buddy." Dean takes him in his arms, straightening up. "How you been?" Mark just giggles in reply, kisses Dean's cheek and snuggling under his collarbone. He holds the boy there for a long moment, running his fingers through his hair as he takes in every detail of his son. It doesn't take him long to notice the boy looks at him with Castiel's eyes.

He looks at Jamie. "Where's Sam?" He finally asks. "I haven't been able to get ahold of him."

Jamie shakes her head. "I don't know." She steps away. "We haven't seen Sam in a year."

"What?"

She sighs, the memory of that night rushing back to her. "When I found out you were in Purgatory, I left Sam a message, took Mark and left." She put a hand to her heart, remembering the pain that had gripped her soul. But the presence of Dean's daughter, of her daughter though she did not understand at the time, had given her the drive to carry on. "I assumed Sam would join up with me. I told him I was going hunting, and I was going to find a way to get you home, but he didn't meet me." She shook her head. "Three months went by, six months. Half his numbers are out of service, as you've found out, and he didn't answer whatever one worked. And Bobby…without Bobby, I didn't know what to do." She sighs. "But I did find him. And uh…"

"What?" When she turns back around Dean is holding Mark on his hip and his cellphone in his other hand. He looks at her. "What?" He asks again.

She stares at him, still bloody and dirty from purgatory. She sense the cold, hardened soul within him, and she can't bare to divulge Sam's latest betrayals against them both. "Nothing. Call him. That number will work."

Sam opens the front door and takes a few steps inside. Dean pushes Sam to the ground and douses him with holy water. Jamie is standing a few feet away with Mark. "What the –? I'm not a demon." Dean pours Borax over him. "Or a Leviathan. What –" He grabs his arm and cuts it with a knife. Sam gasps in pain.

"Or a shifter. Good." Dean stands up. "My turn. Come on. Let's go." He holds out the bottles to Sam.

Sam shakes his head. "I don't need to. I know it's you."

Jamie snickers. Mark giggles. "Sammy!"

Dean groans. "Damn it, Sammy!" He splashes the holy water and Borax over himself and holds out a knife to Sam, who has stood up. "Come on!"

Sam refuses the knife. "No! Dean, can I just say hello?"

Dean looks over at Jamie. Jamie puts Mark on the floor and walks over to her brother. "Give me that." She shakes her head as she rolls up his sleeve and cuts his arm. "All right." He smiles as he binds his arm.

Sam rolls his eyes and grins. "What about Jamie?"

Jamie rolls up the sleeve of her jacket and shows him the cut. He nods. Dean opens his arms. "Well, let's do this."

Sam laughs, looking at Dean. "I don't know whether to give you a hug or take a shower."

Dean laughs as well. "Come here."

Sam wraps his arms around Dean, as does Jamie. Dean wraps his arms around the both of them. After a minute he pulls away.

"Dude. You're... freakin' alive." Sam walks a few steps away with his hands in his hair. "I mean, what the hell happened?" He looks back at his brother.

Dean shrugs. "Well, I guess standing too close to exploding Dick sends your ass straight to Purgatory."

Sam looks shocked. "You were in Purgatory?"

Dean nods. "Yeah, time flies when you're running for your life."

"Yeah, there's something else we have to tell you." Jamie takes her twin's hand and places it against her stomach. Sam looks at her shocked, a grin spreading across his face. "Um…this is Dean's daughter." Sam's eyes narrow in confusion and he looks at Dean. "He brought her soul back from purgatory. And now she's…"Jamie puts her hand on her stomach, over Sam's. "Mark's little sister."

"Oh my God." Sam mutters. "So..Well, how'd you get out? Jamie?"

Their sister shakes her head. "I didn't pull him out. I tried, though."

Dean nods in conformation. "Yeah she tried pretty hard, but I guess whoever built that box didn't want me in there any more than I did."

"What does that mean?"

Dean shakes his head. "I'm here, okay?"

Sam grins and then takes Mark out of Jamie's arms. He hugs the boy and puts his hand back on Jamie's stomach. "What about Cas?" He looks at Jamie and then to Dean. "Was he there?"

Dean walks a few steps away and speaks with his back to Sam and Jamie. Jamie looks down. Tears run down her cheeks. Sam looks at her and his jaw drops. He turns to Dean. "Yeah, Cas didn't make it."

"Daddy." Mark fusses, wanting Dean. Sam rocks him, frowning at the boy's reaction.

"What exactly does that mean?" Sam asks.

Dean shrugs. "Something happened to him down there. Things got pretty hairy towards the end, and he... just let go."

Jamie sobs. Dean walks over and pulls her into a hug.

Sam is quiet for a moment. "So Cas is dead? You saw him die?"

"I saw enough."

Sam narrows his eyes. "So, then what, you're not sure?"

Dean hugs Jamie and then pulls away. "I'm sorry Jamie, I'm so sorry." He mutters before turning back to Sam. "I said I saw enough, Sam."

Sam nods at this. "Right. Dean, I'm sorry." He gives Mark back to Jamie. "I'm sorry, Jamie."

Jamie takes Mark into the bedroom. Dean sighs defeated. "Me too. So you – I can't believe you're actually here." He takes two beers out of the refrigerator. "You know that half your numbers are out of service? Felt like I was leaving messages in the wind." He sits down at the table and sets a beer down for Sam. Sam remains standing.

"Yeah, I-I-I didn't get your messages."

"How come?"

Sam rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Probably because I ditched the phones."

Dean waits for a answer. "Because...?"

"I guess, um... I guess something happened to me this year, too." He shrugs. "I don't hunt anymore." He smiles tentatively.

Dean stares at him for a minute. "Yeah. And Sasha Grey's gone legit." Sam exhales. "What?"

"Nothing. Um, she did a Soderbergh movie."

"What?"

"She did a Soderbergh –"

Dean shakes his head. "No. _You,_ Sam. You quit?" His tone is accusatory and Sam frowns.

"Yeah. Yeah, I – you were gone... Dean. Cas was gone, Jamie ran off, Bobby was dead. I mean, Crowley even shipped off Kevin and Meg to parts unknown."

Dean chuckles darkly and shakes his head. "So you just turned tail on the family business."

Sam shrugs again. "Nothing says "family" quite like the whole family being dead."

"I wasn't dead." Sam and Dean turn and look at Jamie. She's leaning against the wall.

Dean nods. "I wasn't dead, either." He stands up and walks around Sam. "In fact, I was knee-deep in God's armpit killing monsters, which, I thought, is what we actually do."

Sam scoffs. "Yes, Dean. And far as I knew, what we do is the thing that got almost every single member of my family killed." He turns to his twin. Jamie crosses her eyes, her blue eyes staring straight threw Sam. "Jamie, Crowley threatened to go after you and Mark."

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Because I'm a prophet or because Mark is Cas-" She cuts herself off. Dean whirls around and looks at her. She swallows thickly. "because he's part angel?"

Sam shakes his head. "Both. I couldn't chance that happening. He can't find you, but he could find me. So I had no one – no one. And for the first time in my life, I was completely alone. And, honestly, I-I didn't exactly have a roadmap. So, yeah, I-I fixed up the Impala, and I just... drove."

Dean glances to his brother. "After you looked for me." Sam says nothing. "Did you look for me, Sam?" Sam looks away. Dean chuckles and paces. "Good. That's good. Now, we – we... always told each other _not_ to look for each other. That's smart. Good for you. Of course, we always ignored that because of our deep, abiding love for each another, but not this time, right, Sammy? You left our sister and her baby alone to be chased by demons for a year while she looked for me and you didn't."

Jamie sighs. "Dean to be fair, I didn't really look for him either."

"Because you were up to your ass in demons!" Dean shoots back.

"That was her choice." Sam says bitterly.

Jamie's eyes dart to him and she takes a step forward. "Yeah, it was my choice, Sam." Her voice is hard. "It should have been yours too. We can't escape this." She gestures to Dean. "Our son is half angel. My daughter…" She puts her hand on her stomach. "My daughter, our daughter…" She gestures at Dean again. "Our daughter was a demon. This is our life, and you turned your back on us."

Sam steps back, feeling the anger and betrayal radiating from both siblings. "Look, I'm still the same guy."

Dean chuckles sarcastically. "Well, bully for you. I'm not!" He yells sharply walking into the bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

"Don't wake up Mark!" Jamie yells after him.

"Welcome back." Sam mutters under his breath. "What-"

"Happened to him?" Jamie finishes. "You don't wanna know."

He exhales. "I am sorry about the last year."

Jamie looks at him and scoffs crossing her arms. "Sammy, the last time Dean was gone…"

He scoffs this time. "I left to protect you."

"You did what Dad did!" She yells in a sudden burst of anger.

He takes it, nodding. "What about when I was in hell? You and Dean didn't stick together long."

" That's different! I was an angel for a year. I couldn't very well just pop in and say "Hey Dean, how's the weather down on Earth these days?" You left me! Again!"

He shakes his head. "I…I thought I was doing what was best for you."

She chuckles bitterly. "And that's exactly what Dad said to me. Look how that turned out. I could have really used your help this time." She goes back into the bedroom.

Later that night Dean is sitting on the couch going through a box containing phones. "You want some dinner?" Sam asks.

"Pass." Jamie mutters.

"Pass." Dean puts an earphone into his ear.

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Told you."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Okay." He stirs something on the stove.

Sam and Jamie are at the table eating. Dean, who had been listening to phone messages through the headset, turns to look hard at Sam. Sam looks up. "What?"

Jamie looks at Sam. Dean takes out the earphone and puts the phone on speaker.

"_Sam Winchester, it's Kevin Tran. Crowley had me in this warehouse, and I just escaped. I don't know where I am. And I don't know if he or – or any other demons are still after me. I need your help. Call me back. It's Kevin Tran."_

"When was that?" Sam asks.

Jamie's eyes are glazed over. "Give me a minute." She looks up. "Over six months ago."

Dean plays another message.

"_Sam Winchester. It's Kevin Tran. I called you a week ago. Call me, please. I don't know what the hell I'm doing out here, man."_

Sam puts down his spoon. "Okay." He stands up. "I get it. So, what, you want to... strategize or something?"

Dean doesn't say anything, he only plays another message.

"_Sam, it's Kevin. I'm... Whoo! I'm so good"_

"Oh." Jamie mutters quietly.

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Is he...drunk?"

"_Three months since you ditched my ass. Haven't slept for more than four hours a night. It's all good in the hood. Uh, if you're still alive, eat me."_

"_Eat me!"_

"_Sam, it's been six months. I can only assume you're dead. If not, don't try and reach me. You won't be able to. I won't be calling this number anymore."_

Dean stands up looking at Sam. Jamie gets up and walks over to them. "Dean…" She stands between them, putting one hand on Dean's chest.

"He was our responsibility." Dean tosses the phone at Sam's chest. "And you couldn't answer the damn phone." Sam frowns. Jamie shakes her head.

Dean is reading on the couch. Jamie is holding Mark and walks around with him. Sam is using his laptop at the table. "All right, listen to this – Kevin's last message. Listen to the background."

"_If not, don't try and reach me. You won't be able to. I won't be calling this number anymore."_

There's a rushing sound in the background. "Hear that?" Sam asks.

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"What is it?"

"I think he was on a bus. Listen again."

"_If not, don't try and reach me."_

There's a woman's voice in the background. "_Last stop – Centreville."_

"_...won't be calling this number –"_

Dean stands up and walks over to Sam. Jamie walks over. "Centreville? Centreville, where?"

"Michigan." Jamie replies.

Dean raises eyebrow. "And why would Kevin be in Centreville, Michigan?"

"Because... " He does an internet search for "Kevin Tran BFF Link" "his high-school girlfriend..." He turns the laptop around to show Dean and Jamie a page for Channing Ngo. "goes to college there."

"That's thin."

Jamie shrugs. "It's something."

"It's the best lead we got." Sam tells him.

"We"?

"You were right. He was our responsibility. So... let's find him, okay?"

It's morning. Dean and Sam put weapons and their bags into the trunk of the Impala. Jamie comes out with Mark and a bag. Dean moves to block her. "Oh no. You aint going anywhere."

Jamie stares up at him. "What?"

"You're pregnant, Jamie." Sam tells him from behind them.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "I can create fire, move things with my mind, and see the future, not to mention I'm the best damn exorcist in the country. And you've been out of action for a year, Sam, which also makes me the better hunter."

Sam smirks. "It's not up to me, I'm not the father." He casts a sideways glance at Dean.

Dean scoffs. "Well I am, and as long as my kid is in your stomach," He gestures dramatically at Jamie's stomach. "I'm not chancing anything."

Jamie rolls her eyes and goes back into the house. Sam gruffs impressed. "That was easy."

Dean eyes him. "You kiddin me? She's gonna kick my ass when we get back."

Sam shrugs. "Hey." He tosses Dean the keys.

Dean looks the Impala over. "Well... no visible signs of douchery – I'll give you that." They get in. Dean pauses and looks at the back seat. "Smell like dog to you?"

Sam inhales. "In the car?"

"You tell me." Sam shrugs. "Hmm."

Sam is quiet for a moment. "So…you and Jamie are gonna have a kid?"

Dean smirks. "Well technically we already have a kid."

"You know what I mean."

"Hey, I already had a kid, okay. Just this time she's going to be normal."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "Normal?"

Dean shrugs. "Relatively speaking."

"And you're just gonna pretend it's okay that her parents are brother and sister."

Dean starts the engine and they drive away.

Sam and Dean walk from the Impala to a boarded up Church. They're in Fairfield, Iowa. Dean looks the place over. "A church? You sure this is right?"

Sam shrugs. "Barista at the coffee shop swears he's seen Kevin ducking in here for the past few months."

Jamie walks over to them, carrying Mark. "It's right." She tells them.

"Jamie! What the hell are you doing here?" Dean turns to her.

She shrugs. "You need my help."

Sam tries the door, then knocks. "Kevin. It's Sam, Jamie, and Dean Winchester. Open up."

Sam shakes his head at Dean and Jamie. Dean shoves him aside starts to picks the lock. Jamie grabs his shoulder and pulls him back. He looks at her and she flicks her finger. The door cracks over. Dean gives her a look and they go inside. Jamie ducks behind Sam and Dean just as Kevin sprays them with Borax from a large water gun.

Dean puts his hands up. "Stop! Stop! Not Leviathans. It's us."

Jamie ducks back out from behind her brothers. "Hi Kevin."

"What the hell happened to you guys?"

Dean shrugs. "Cliff Notes? I went to Purgatory. Jamie tried to bail me out. Sam hit a dog."

"For real?" Dean wipes his face with his sleeve. "You want some towels?"

Kevin leads the way into the room. Symbols are painted on the floor. "I'm impressed." Jamie mutters, looking back at Sam.

Mark giggles. "I guess he approves." Jamie and Sam grin at each other.

Dean turns to Kevin. "Who taught you all this?"

Kevin pauses. "I guess..."

"God?" Jamie finishes.

"Yeah."

"_God_ taught you how to trap demons?" Sam asks, not convinced.

"Technically, yeah."

Sam stops him. "Wait, wait, hold on. Crowley kidnapped you. I saw that. But then you left a message saying you escaped. How?"

"Well..."

Jamie walks forward suddenly very excited. "Oh hold on, hold on! Dean, hold Mark." Jamie gives Mark to Dean and then takes Kevin and Sam's hands.

Kevin gives her an odd look. "Uh…"

"Go on. Sam close your eyes." Jamie and Sam close their eyes. As Kevin starts to talk, Jamie and Sam see it in their minds. They see Kevin walks up a flight of stairs with a demon.

"First, he took me to a warehouse."

_Crowley is waiting for them. "Look at you. Haircut, manicure, pedicure. Like a new penny."_

_"Will there be torture now?"_

_"Torture? Heavens, no. No. Quite the opposite, my young prince. Sky's the limit for you and I." Crowley puts a hand on Kevin's shoulder and leads him across the room._

_"There was a tablet there, like the last one." _

_Crowley motions Kevin into a chair in front of a stone tablet. "There we go. Now, remember – feel like a winner, be a winner. Okay? Interpret."_

Sam opens his eyes and looks at his sister. "Jamie, you're awesome."

Jamie chuckles. "Yeah I know."

Kevin gives her another look. "How come I don't have cool powers like that?"

Sam shrugs. "You're not my twin."

Jamie elbows him and then turns to Kevin. "I'm a psychic in my own right, I've had these powers before I was a prophet, they've just grown stronger over the years."

"Daddy." Mark whimpers. Dean rocks him on his hip, shushing him quietly. "Wait, wait there's another tablet?" He looks at Kevin.

Jamie nods. "Another Word of God."

Kevin nods. "Yes."

"How many Words of God are there?" Dean asks.

Kevin shrugs. "I just became a Prophet, like, a year ago."

Dean turns to Jamie. "I'm just the voice, remember?"

Sam shrugs. "Well, did this tablet have a name?"

"Demons."

"What about demons?" Dean asks.

Jamie looks up. "Oh my god." She looks at Kevin.

"As far as I could tell... everything."

Jamie takes Kevin's hand again. Sam puts his hands on her shoulders.

_Crowley is standing over Kevin's shoulder. "What are we looking at?"_

_The tablet drifts in and out of focus for Kevin. "It's all just fragments. Bits and pieces. This is hard."_

_"Throw me a bone here, Kev."_

"_Wait..."_

"_Yes?"_

_The tablet seems to shake and blur in Kevin's hands. "I'm sorry. Is it just me, or is it hot in here?"_

_"Is it? Our mistake." He mouths "Turn it up" to the demon, who nods and leaves._

_"Okay. I see something. Hell Gates."_

_Crowley leans in. "Talk to me."_

Sam opens his eyes and looks at Kevin. "What about Hell Gates?"

"There's one in Wisconsin. The tablet told me how to open it. There were ingredients for a spell."

_Kevin uses a mortar and pestle. He adds something to a large bowl. Demons bring other ingredients to the table and he continues to prepare the spell. He looks up and nods to one of the demons, who is on his cell phone._

_"Right away." The demon turns to Kevin. "Mr. Crowley would like you to proceed."_

_"Where is Mr. Crowley?"_

_"Where do you think, dumbass? Wisconsin." Kevin lights a match and holds it above the bowl. "Go." Kevin smiles and drops the match._

Dean frowns. "You showed the King of Hell how to open a Hell Gate? So that all the demons in Hell could come out all at the same time?" Mark has fallen asleep in his arms, so he keeps his voice low.

Kevin looks surprised. "What? No."

Jamie still has her eyes closed. "Dean listen to the story."

_The match falls into the bowl. Flames flare up and light engulfs the demons, who burn up while being flung backwards into the wall. Kevin takes the tablet and runs._

Kevin grins. "I told Crowley I was opening a Hell Gate, but I was reading from another chapter – how to destroy demons."

Jamie and Sam open their eyes. Jamie grins at Kevin. "Kid, I think I like you."

Dean also grins. "You son of a bitch." He says quietly, rubbing Mark's back.

Sam turns back to their prophet. "Wait. Kevin? Where's the tablet now?"

"Safe."

"Safe where?"

Dean interrupts Sam. "Hey. As long as it's safe, okay? Were you able to read anything else off the tablet before you stashed it?"

Kevin looks up. "Only the stuff about…"

Jamie turns to her brothers. "Closing the gates of Hell. Forever."

Dean's eyes widen. Sam's jaw drops. "Come again?"

"Banish all demons off the face of the Earth, lock them away forever. That could be important, right?"

Sam, Jamie, and Dean look at each other. "Closing the gates of Hell forever? Yeah. Yeah, that could be important." Dean mutters.

Dean, Jamie, and Sam exit the church and stand talking outside it. Mark is still asleep in Dean's arms. He looks hopeful. Beside him Jamie is staring out into the field surrounding the church. She sighs deeply, one hand on her stomach. Sam frowns and leans against the railing. Dean turns to his siblings. "Okay, if this kid is right, he's sitting on a bombshell. Hell, he _is_ the bombshell." Jamie and Sam both pick up the excitement in Dean's voice.

Jamie tries to smile. "I can't even begin to believe this. It could be over."

Sam sighs deeply and looks away. Dean looks past Jamie to their brother. "What?"

Sam looks up. "That." He sounds almost depressed. "I mean, there's no way that Kevin's getting out of this intact, is there?"

Dean just shrugs. "Well, he's doing pretty well for himself so far."

"Yeah, he got out." Sam shoots back.

"Sam…" Jamie starts to say, quietly, already knowing what her twin is thinking.

Dean shakes his head. "And now he's in it... whether he likes it or not." Mark begins to stir and Dean rubs a warm hand over his son's back, lulling him back to sleep.

"So...free will, that's only for you?" Sam's voice is harsh, almost accusing, though he doesn't mean it. Not really.

"Sam!" Jamie protests.

Dean stares at his brother. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Sam, we have an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. We take Kevin to the tablet, he tells us the spell, we send every demon back to hell – forever. Every single bastard that destroyed our lives…"

"Killed our mother, sent our father to hell." Jamie adds.

Dean nods. "Killed Jess. And you're not sure?"

Sam stares at his siblings for a moment and then walks back into the church. He finds Kevin sitting in the pews, and sits down behind him. After a minute he starts talking to him. "Kevin, I, uh... I owe you an apology. Um... look, when you disappeared and Dean disappeared, I...needed to clear my head, and... I'm thinking maybe you were one of the pieces that I should have been there to pick up."

Kevin turns to him. "You've been a hunter since you were a kid, right?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, mostly. Yeah."

Kevin looks away. "Ever since I realized I was a prophet... It's just hard to believe this is actually my life."

Sam's voice is full of understanding and sympathy. "Yeah. It sucks right now. I know that. Um, it might suck for a lot longer, but... trust me on this – it gets better."

Kevin turns back to look at him. "You know I'm not gay, right?" he smirks.

Sam grins. "If we can do this, get the tablet, get you everything you need to close the gates of Hell, there's a world out there where nobody – not Crowley, no demon – is chasing you anymore."

Kevin nods. "I guess I just don't see how I get from here to there."

"I used to not be able to see it, either. But there is a way."

"Just give me five minutes." Kevin walks off. Dean and Jamie stand in the doorway watching Sam.

Later that night, Kevin walks into the room to join Sam, Jamie, and Dean when the church starts to shake. "Boys, incoming!" Jamie nods to the floor, drawing Sam and Dean's attention to the floorboards breaking. Mark wakes up and starts crying. Dean quickly hands her over to Jamie. "We got company. Guys." Dean hands Sam a knife and picks up his weapon from Purgatory. Jamie straps Mark into her backpack so that her hands are free.

Sam stares at Dean's weapon. "What the hell is that?"

Dean glances down. "It's Purgatory."

"It's awesome." Jamie comments

The doors fly open and two demons enter. One of them notices Dean right off. "Dean Winchester. Back from Purgatory."

Dean smirks. "Spanky the demon." Sam and Jamie move to stand in front of Kevin. Dean stands his ground. "Yeah, I heard about you. You're the one who uses too much teeth, right?"

The demons rush for the Winchesters, and they fight. Jamie shoves her hands forward and telekinetically knocks one of the demons toward Kevin who squirts him with holy water from a squeeze bottle. Sam kills one of the demons with the knife.

"Dean!" He passes the knife to Dean, who is struggling with the other demon. He stabs it with the knife. Jamie rushes over to help him up.

"Hello, boys."

The siblings turn to see Crowley and Channing are standing in the doorway. "Crowley." Jamie sneers, reaching behind her for Mark. Dean moves to stand just behind her, protectively around Mark.

Crowley focuses on Dean first. "Dean. You're looking... well, let's just say Purgatory didn't do you any favors. Where's your angel?"

"Ask your mother." He shoots back.

"There's that grade-school zip. Missed it. I really did." He cocks his head and looks to Jamie. "Prophetess, I was wondering when you'd show up. Oh is that Castiel's little half breed? My how he's grown."

Dean and Jamie both visibly tense, curling themselves around the boy. "You stay away from our son." They hiss at the same time, much to Crowley's delight.

"You two are so cute when you're domestic." He glances finally to Sam. "Moose. Still with the pork chops. I admire that."

"Let Channing go." Kevin says, shoving out from behind Sam.

Dean sidesteps to block him. "That's not Channing, Kevin. Not anymore."

Crowley frowns. "What an awful thing to say to the boy. Of course it's Channing. Kev. Last time we danced, you stole my tablet and killed my men. Tell you what. Come with me now, bygones. And I'll let the girl go back to... What's-the-Point U."

Dean turns to Kevin. "He's lying. You won't get Channing back. She's probably dead already."

Crowley sighs. "Will you please stop saying that? Let the girl speak." He snaps his fingers.

Channing looks up, scared and confused. "Kevin?"

"Channing?"

"What's going on?"

"There's a demon in you, and you're going to your safety school."

"What?!" She yells, visible upset.

"But it's gonna be okay." He says reassuringly.

"I-I-I-I just – I can't." Crowley says with mock sympathy.

Kevin reaches towards Channing. "No, no, wait." Crowley snaps his fingers again and Channing's eyes turn black. "Okay. I'll do it."

Sam steps forward. "Kevin."

He ignores him. "Myself for the girl. But this ends. All right? No fighting, no nothing. It ends."

Jamie glances towards the prophet. "It never ends." She nods to Dean who takes another step towards Kevin.

"Can't let you do that, buddy."

Kevin stares up at Dean. "Or what? You'll kill me?" He looks towards Crowley. "I'll grab my stuff." He leaves.

Dean moves back over to Jamie. Sam takes a few steps towards his siblings. Jamie reaches over and grabs Sam's hand. They stare at each other, passing glances of confusion and worry.

Crowley turns to them. "Chin up, gentlemen, Jamie. I'm a professional." He grins.

"You're a bastard." Jamie shoots back.

"Like your son….and whatever is has taken root in your womb." One of Jamie's hands flies to her stomach. So does Dean's. "We can't keep our legs closed can we?

"You son of a bitch, how dare you!" Dean yells.

Crowley grins. "Oh I see. This one really is yours. Tsk tsk tsk." Sam frowns, looking at his siblings.

Dean shakes his head. "This ain't over by a long shot, Crowley."

"Really, Dean, who writes your stuff? A marshmallow?" He calls out. "Come on, Kevin. Chop, chop." There's no answer. "Kevin?"

Crowley takes a step forward and Dean raises the knife. Crowley snaps his fingers and the knife glows red. Dean drops it. "Aah!" It burns his hand. Jamie closes her eyes in defeat.

"Really,guys?" Crowley walks right past them. "Kevin!"

As soon as his back is to the siblings Jamie squints and the knife flies into Dean's hand. He grips it, purposely not looking at her.

Crowley, with Channing behind him, opens another door in the church. Kevin is standing in the room holding the end of a cord. "Kevin."

Kevin pulls the cord and holy water drops onto the demons. They yell in pain, smoke sizzling up from their bodies. "Sam, Jamie, Dean, run!" Kevin yells.

Jamie rushes towards the exit. "Come on, boys!" Dean and Sam grab their bags and take off after her.

Crowley and Channing continue to yell and sizzle. Sam, Jamie, Dean and Kevin run for the Impala.

"Get in, get in, get in." Dean urges, hurrying into the driver's seat. Sam unbuckles Mark from Jamie's back and she crawls in. He hands her the baby and then shoves Kevin in beside her before getting in himself. Dean has the engine going and starts to drive. Crowley and Channing come outside the church. "Find another meatsuit." Crowley orders. Black smoke pours from Channing's mouth. The Impala drives past. As Kevin, Jamie, and Sam watch, Crowley makes a hand motion and Channing's neck snaps. She falls to the ground. The Impala speeds away and Crowley wipes his face with a handkerchief.

They drive in silence for awhile. Finally Dean pulls the Impala into a gas station. Mark is asleep against his mother, Sam watching both of them protectively. Dean's phone rings. Sam turns to look at him.

"Hello?" He listens for a moment. "Wrong number." He hangs up. "Automated jackass." He mutters and then glances around the car. "All right, anybody want anything?"

Jamie's head comes up. "Ginger Ale and Saltines."

Dean snickers. "You want a barf bag with that?"

Jamie nods. Dean looks at Sam. "I'm good." He mutters. Dean turns to look at Kevin in the back seat. Kevin doesn't respond. Dean looks at Sam. "Kevin? How you holding up?" Sam asks.

Kevin shakes his head. "Awesome. The king of Hell just snapped my girlfriend's neck. How about you?"

The Winchester siblings look at each other. Dean sighs. "All right, listen to me. I'm sorry about your girlfriend, okay? I am. But the sooner you get this, the better."

Jamie shifts her position, staring at the prophet. "You're in it now, whether you like it or not." She tells him, trying to be sympathic.

Dean nods. "That means you do what you got to do. I'm hitting the head." Dean starts to get out of the Impala.

"Don't forget my ginger ale!" Jamie yells after him. Dean leaves. Sam looks back at Jamie and Kevin. "He's gonna forget my ginger ale." She pouts. Sam grins.

"You want me to go in?" Sam asks. Kevin turns away and looks out the window. Sam and Jamie look at each other and frown. "We'll be right back." He says to Kevin. They get out of the Impala. Sam carefully takes Mark and holds him close. Jamie leans against the car, rubbing her stomach. She lifts her shirt a little and frowns. Sam looks down at her stomach and then up at her. "You sure she's human?"

Jamie puts her shirt back down. "She's my daughter now."

Sam grins. "Hmm…Emma." He touches her stomach with his free hand.

"No. Not Emma." Sam and Jamie look up as Dean comes back. Dean closes his eyes and curses. "I forgot the ginger ale."

Jamie nods. "It's okay. What do you mean not Emma?"

Dean rubs his sister's stomach. "She's our daughter, not theirs."

Sam chuckles. "So what are you gonna name her, Mary?"

Dean shrugs. "Thought crossed my mind."

Jamie shakes her head. "I like Emily better."

Sam thinks for a moment. "What about Emmy? Short for Mary Emilia."

Jamie considers it. "Mary Emilia Winchester?" She grins.

Sam nods. "Yeah."

Dean smiles. "Works for me. Jamie?" He turns to her. She smirks and looks down.

A/n: Emilia is pronounced M-ill-lia not "Amelia."


	50. 806 Southern Comfort

Dean, Sam, and Garth are standing in a store watching security footage of a man stabbing another with the shovel on a television screen on the wall. The first man's head is obscured by white light and there is a white line across the screen. "Must be the camera." The deputy remarks.

Garth nods. "Yeah, thank you, there, deputy." He turns around and gives Dean and Sam a look.

"You guys see the head? Ever seen anything like that before?" Dean asks.

"Like that? No way."

Sam looks around. "So?"

Dean shrugs. "So…"

Garth steps back. "So, I'm thinking we need to call in someone with more expertise in the weird and wacko."

Dean looks up at this, confused. "Who?"

Garth is looking at his phone. "Your sister."

Dean and Sam share a look before Dean reaches for Garth's phone. "Woah, what? No way!" He snatches the phone from Garth's reach.

Garth looks extremely confused. "Why not? What's wrong with Jamie? I just talked to her a few days ago."

Horor paints itself across Dean's face, and he turns away fuming. Sam swallows with difficulty, taking a step away from Dean. He pulls Garth aside. "You talked to Jamie?" He asks quietly.

Garth looks at Sam and then glances over his shoulder at Dean. "Yeah. She was hunting a wendigo outside Baton Rouge."

"She was hunting?!" Dean rages. Some of the police officers still hanging around glance over at them. Garth gives them a friendly wave.

"What…" He starts to ask.

"Mmm, Jamie's pregnant." Sam explains.

Garth shrugs. "I know. And…"

Sam chuckles softly. "Long story. Um…okay, we'll get in touch with Jamie. What else?"

"Talk to Sara Alcott. I found her – although these days, she goes by Sara Brown."

Sam nods. "How about this? I'll check her out, and you two see what you can find out about Sussex."

"Word." Garth replies.

Dean shakes his head, trying to keep his temper in check. "Awesome."

Sam looks pleased as he leaves.

Dean and Garth walk into the motel room. Dean is still royally pissed off as he takes a seat at the table. Garth sits down across from him. "You gonna tell me what's going on with you and Jamie?"

Just as Dean opens his mouth the motel room door flies open, revealing Jamie with Mark on her hip. Her baby bump is visible under her jacket. "Hey Dean. Hey Garth." She says casually. "You boys might want this." She holds up an old journal.

Garth eyes it and then his face lights up. He grins. "Bobby's journal. Right on. Thanks sweetheart." He takes the journal. Jamie looks at Dean. Dean looks at Jamie.

"Garth, can you give us a minute? Take the kid, looks like he could use a nap." Dean grins at Mark, who yawns. Garth looks confused as Jamie hands him Mark.

"Uh, okay." Garth walks into the other room. Dean turns to Jamie.

"How was the wendigo?" He asks calmly.

"Dean…" She sighs and looks away. "Don't start alright?"

Dean's face twists in anger. "Don't start? Are you frickin kidding me?" He yells. Jamie winces at the tone of his voice. "You're three months pregnant with my baby, Jamie! You cannot just hunt anymore!"

Jamie takes a step forward, instantly just as angry. "I'm not Sam, Dean! This is my life. I can't just sit on the couch and eat chocolate and watch bad movies for nine months."

For a long moment they stare at each other. Dean stewing over his anger that she would hunt behind his back. Jamie stewing over her anger that he would fail to understand her motives.

Dean finally relents a little. "Look, I'm not saying you get out. But why can't you just sit back and let other hunters deal with the monsters? Huh?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Yeah, send other men to die for me." It's definitely not the first time Dean has heard her say that. He winces softly, remembering their meeting with Michael. "Not happening, Dean."

"Mark is my son too, remember?" He says softly, taking a step towards her. She backs away at first. "And that is my baby in there, Jamie!" He puts his hand on her stomach. She stops and looks at him with blurry eyes. "This is my daughter. I will do whatever the hell it takes to protect her and Mark. I just ask you do the same." She sighs and he continues. "Kevin is gone. Crowley is probably looking for him just as badly as we are. I cannot have you in the line of fire. Don't ask me to put the mother of my children, the woman carrying my baby in the line of fire."

"That's not fair, Dean. I love you, and I have never asked you to stay away. Ever." She shakes her head. "I have never asked you to change for me."

"Things are different, Jamie. This isn't just you. This is about our children."

She closes her eyes at his words. "Our baby is fine, Dean. Mark is fine. I hunted when I was pregnant with him. I'm more then capable of protecting our children."

Dean shakes his head. "Mark is half angel, our daughter is human. Please, I cannot lose either one of you." She stares at him for a long time and then finally reaches out and hugs him.

Later, Dean and Garth are sitting at the table. Jamie is leaning against the counter. Garth is reading the journal Jamie brought and Dean using the laptop while drinking a beer. Garth reaches for a beer that is on the table between them, but Dean prevents him from taking it. "Easy there, flyweight. Last time you drank a beer, I had to pick you up off the floor."

He moves the beer away. Jamie smirks. "You're such an idjit." Garth remarks, looking back at the journal.

Dean and Jamie look at each other and then at Garth. Dean looks annoyed. "Idjit's supposed to be used angrily. Okay? Not happy. If you're gonna butcher it, don't say it at all."

Garth looks up in surprise. "Whoa, then. Okay. N-none of my business, but... this have anything to do with you and Jamie?" He gestures to her.

"No." She replies shortly.

"Okay. Then you and... Sam?"

Dean looks up with a glare. "No, you had it right. It's none of your business."

"Okay. It just seems that you guys are a little tense around each other."

Jamie glances at Dean and then turns to Garth. "Drop it, Garth." She mutters, stepping out of the room to check on Mark.

Dean watches her leave. "We're fine." He turns back to the laptop. "Can we get back to work?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Dean types a new search into the laptop and browses through the results.

Garth looks up again. "All right. Just, uh – just letting you know that I'm here for you, for anything. I know sometimes Bobby, he would –"

Dean looks up angrily. Jamie returns and she reaches over and grabs Dean's shoulder. "Dean…"

Dean explodes. "You're not Bobby! Okay? You're never gonna be Bobby, so stop!"

Jamie looks away, rubbing Dean's shoulder. Garth gets choked up. "Bobby belonged to all of us, Dean – not just you, Jamie, and Sam. Now, I'm just taking what he showed me and trying do something with it. That's all!"

Dean sighs, looking at his sister and then down to his hands. "Why don't you see if you can find something in that bourbon-drenched book of his so we can get the hell out of Dixie, all right?" He says, softly this time.

Garth wipes his eyes. "Yeah. I'm on it."

Jamie looks over her brother's shoulder. "Dean…what did you say the word written in blood was?"

"Sussex."

"That's what I thought. Sussex…I know that name." She reaches over Dean's shoulder and types something in on the laptop. Dean's eyes light up. "That's why. "Sussex" is not a who, it's a what."

Dean grins at her. "You're amazing." She grins and they look at Garth. "It's a business that went belly-up about a year ago." Dean explains. "Look at this." He turns the laptop towards Garth. On the screen is an article about the bankruptcy of Scott Lew and Jeff Bult's tire company. "So, the guy that Scott brained? His old business partner – ran the company into the ground."

Garth nods to himself. "So, Scott had a beef with Jeff."

"Looks like." Dean confirms.

Jamie looks up, gripping Dean's shoulder. "Phone. Sam." She tells him.

Dean looks at her. "That is still annoying, Jamie." A second later his phone rings and he answers it. "Hey, you're on speaker." He puts the phone down on the table.

"Hey Sammy." Jamie says looking at the phone.

"Hey sis, good to hear your voice. So, Sara Alcott's clean, if you look past the fact that she and Chester knocked boots on prom night back in the day."

"Okay, so... Mary has a grudge against Sara, and Scott has a grudge against Jeff. Besides the fact this is making my head hurt…" Jamie walks over to Garth and looks down at the page he is reading a page about spectres in the journal while Dean catches Sam up "…how does this add up to a ghost?"

"Guys! Bobby has it right here. Green goo equals a-"

"Spectre." Jamie finishes.

Dean looks confused. "Which equals ghost, right?"

Garth nods. "Mm, yeah, kind of."

"A spectre is an avenging ghost." Jamie explains.

Garth nods, reading from the journal. "Yeah. It, uh – it possesses you and finds out whatever betrayals you're feeling and forces you to act on them."

"Bobby say anything in there about how we hunt these things?" Sam asks.

Garth reads some more. "Uh, the last spectre he encountered rose shortly after someone desecrated a nearby grave." Jamie reaches over Garth's shoulder for the laptop. She searches for "grave, vandalism, Kearney" in the Federal Criminal Database. "Which..." A Kearney Sheriff's Office investigation report appears on the screen. Jamie pats Garth's shoulder. "Uh, there was a grave desecrated locally three days ago. It says here... Oh. This could get awkward.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jamie mutters.

Dean looks at them confused. "What?"

Dean, Sam, Jamie, and Garth approach a tomb outside which a uniformed guard stands. Jamie is holding Mark on her hip. Dean turns to his siblings. "The unknown soldier? You're kidding me, right?"

Jamie stares at the tomb. "I wish."

Garth shrugs. "Mary Lew steamrolled her husband the day after this place was vandalized. Do the math."

Sam looks at Garth. "But I thought the unknown soldier was buried in Arlington."

"Wrong unknown soldier." Jamie tells him.

Garth nods. "Yep, this is the Confederate tomb of the unknown soldier. See, the idea was, they took a faceless, nameless soldier they couldn't identify, and they buried him here to commemorate all the soldiers who died."

Dean turns back to him. "Did you learn that in college?"

Garth grins. "Nope – Civil War re-enactments. Once a year, every year. Don't hate."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Okay, uh, what about the guard?"

"Uh, he's ceremonial. Gone by dusk."

"So, then we do this tonight?" Dean asks.

"Yeah."

Jamie shakes her head. "Great."

Sam isn't convinced. "Burn a Confederate soldier's bones in a town full of rednecks? Sure." He glances at his sister and then turns to Dean. "Dean, you gonna let Jamie come?"

Dean stares at him. "What?"

Sam gestures to her. "She'll come in handy with ganking this thing."

"She has my vote." Garth declares.

Jamie turns around and stares at the three of them. "Uh guys, I'm right here."

That night flashlights shine on Confederate soldier headstones. Dean, Sam, Garth, and Jamie approach the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Jamie has Mark strapped to her back, and he's asleep. They enter the tomb and Sam shines his flashlight around. "Place doesn't look disturbed to me. What's the police report say?"

Garth looks around. "Uh, they think it was just some kids messing around. They, uh – they found some beer cans, some graffiti. Oh, and the casket was open when they got here, but they closed that back up."

Dean focuses on the tomb. "Yeah, but not before Casper had a chance to make a run for it."

Jamie shakes her head. "Son of a bitch."

"So, what? If they never touched this, none of this would be happening?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, according to Bobby."

Jamie scoffs. "Yeah, according to any hunter whose ever dealt with a spectre."

Dean whirls around. "Wait…you've seen this before?" He asks.

Jamie shakes her head. "Not personally, Aaron told me about one he and AJ ganked back in the day." She explains. "Same deal, disturbed grave, pissed, possessing ghost…" She shrugs.

"Do you still miss him?" Sam suddenly asks.

"What?" Jamie asks, caught off guard.

Dean waves them off. "All right, story time later, let's get this party started." Sam picks up a circle of thin cord from the floor. "Sammy, you want to give me a hand?" The men all gather around the casket. Jamie stands off to the side with her arms crossed, looking amused. "And... go."

They push the heavy stone lid of the casket aside. Inside the casket lies a skeleton in a uniform, with a sword and gun. "I'll be damned." Jamie mutters.

Garth stares down into the casket. "Whoa. Check out this hardware."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, all authentic Civil War."

"Do you guys know how much this is worth?" Garth asks the boys.

Dean nods. "Yeah, but why open it up if you're not gonna take anything?"

Sam shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe the cops showed up and they had to split fast."

Sam takes out lighter fluid, Garth turns to him. "You sure this will work, even on a spectre?"

"It's a ghost, isn't it? You burn its bones, the ghost disappears." Dean reasons.

"No objection over here." Jamie tells them. Dean and Sam nod.

Sam pours lighter fluid over the skeleton and Dean looks at Jamie. "All right. Do it Jamie."

Jamie opens her hand, creating a flame. Garth raises an eyebrow and then holds his hands up. "All right. All right. All right. Uh, I kind of feel like we should say something, all right? Don't you? Just... a little..."

Jamie stares at him. "Uh Garth…"She looks at Dean. Dean looks at Sam.

"Sure. We won." Dean says before nodding to Jamie. Jamie throws the flame into the tomb and sets the skeleton on fire.

A crime scene investigator photographs blood on the wall behind the Sheriff's desk the next morning.

"All right. We're set." The body is on a stretcher, covered with a bloodstained sheet. "Let's go."

"Yeah." The men push the stretcher away. Dean, Garth, Jamie, and Sam stand around the Sheriff's bloodstained desk.

Dean looks grave. "Ten bones says Deputy Doug had an axe to grind with his boss."

"How can you be so sure?" Garth asks. Dean points to green goo on the Sheriff's tape dispenser. "Ah, what the hell?"

Dean shrugs. "Maybe we torched the wrong redneck."

"Or maybe not." Sam says suddenly, reaching out to grab Jamie's hand. The two of them stare at each other, communicating via their their telepathic link. "_What if-"_

"_What if not everything was destroyed?"_

"_Caught a ride on something taken out of it's grave."_

"_Definitely possible. Probably more than likely what happened."_ They both nod to each other.

Garth watches them confused. He looks at Dean. "Wha-"

"Sam and Jamie can communicate via telepathy. They're having a private conversation." Dean explains.

"Maybe an object _was_ removed from the grave, something the spectre's attaching itself to." Jamie explains, breaking off the connection with Sam.

"Like Bobby's flask?" Dean asks.

Garth shrugs. "Um, I don't know, guys. You saw what I saw. Those kids didn't take anything."

"Or they did." Jamie tells him.

Dean nods. "And this spectre hitched a ride with it."

"And whoever has the object gets possessed." Sam finishes.

"Okay. So, who's got the object, and, more importantly, who do they got a grudge against?" Garth asks.

"Well the deputy shot the sheriff, let's ask him." Jamie suggests.

Sam, Dean and Garth are in a holding cell with Deputy Wallace. Sam leans in. "All right. We need you to focus, Deputy. Other lives depend on it. Tell me what happened after you shot the sheriff."

"I was on the ground. I think Karl tackled me, and I asked him what happened."

"And?" Dean asks.

"He didn't answer me. He just took my gun and walked away."

Dean nods. "Did he say where he was going?"

"I guess... I must have hurt him, too. He said he was going to the hospital."

Dean, Garth and Sam leave the cell. Jamie is standing outside with Mark. Dean turns to all of them. He points to Sam and Garth. "You two find out what you can about the unknown soldier. I got the hospital." He gestures to his sister. "Jamie, you come with me."

Jamie nods. "Lead the way, boss." Dean smirks and walks away. Jamie and Sam share a look as Jamie hands him Mark and follows Dean.

Dean and Jamie get out of the Impala, which is parked behind the sheriff's vehicle at the hospital. Dean glances in the open window of the sheriff's vehicle. He looks at Jamie and walks on. She frowns.

A woman and a man in hospital employee uniforms are laughing together on opposite sides of the reception desk when a shot shatters a pane of glass next to them. They scream and duck for cover. Deputy Karl points his rifle at the man. He has black goo coming from his right ear. "Hey, ump. You remember me? I stole second!"

"Karl? What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing –"

"Why am I gonna make mustard from your brain stem?! I don't know. Why did you call me out, ump?"

"I'm sorry."

He pulls the trigger, but the gun doesn't fire.

"Oooh. Dean…" Jamie is standing behind the deputy. She clicks her tongue and looks over at her brother. Dean smirks.

"Does he look like he's shooting blanks? Cause that's what it looks like to me."

The deputy turns to face Dean. Jamie waves her hand and tosses the rifle aside. Dean punches him, but he barely reacts.

"Hey, that tickled." He punches Dean, who falls heavily to the floor.

"Dean!" Jamie yells, rushing forward.

The deputy grabs Dean and pulls him to his feet again. "Jamie, stay back!" Dean orders. He's being held by the throat. "Karl, listen, I know the spectre's turning the temperature up in there. So just tell me what the object is, and we'll send this joker home."

"I don't think so. There's unfinished business, thanks to you." He sniffs Dean. "Oh, the spectre likes you."

"Oh, yeah? Why don't you tell him to come on out here and we'll make promise bracelets." Dean is flung onto and over a desk. Jamie rushes over to him. The deputy holds up a penny with a hole drilled through it. He grabs Jamie and throws her backward into the wall.

"Here. Have a taste." He presses the penny into Dean's palm.

Sam and Garth enter the motel room. Garth is holding Mark. Sam has his phone to his ear and we hear a phone ringing in the room. Mark is crying. "Jamie? Dean? What the hell, man? We went to the hospital." Dean is sitting on a bed. His ringing phone is next to him. "You're not answering your phone." Jamie is laying on the other bed, clearly unconscious. Sam sees her and rushes over to her. "Jamie! Dean, what happened?"

Dean has black goo running from his right ear. He stands up and points a gun at Sam. "You should have looked for me when I was in Purgatory."

"Come on, Dean. I know it's not you in there pulling the strings."

"Shut up!" He turns to Garth, who makes a move towards his belt for a weapon. "Don't!"

Sam doesn't turn. "Garth, check on Jamie." Garth moves over and sits beside Jamie. Mark is whimpering softly.

Dean points his gun back at Sam. "You never even wanted this life. Always blamed me for pulling you back into it."

"That's not true." Sam tells him.

"Really? 'Cause everything you've ever done since you climbed into my ride has been to deceive me."

Sam sighs. "What do you want me to say? That I've made mistakes? I've made mistakes, Dean."

"That's not Dean, Sam." Garth says.

"Shut up! Mistakes? Well, let's go through some of Sammy's greatest hits. Drinking demon blood, check. Being in cahoots with Ruby. Not telling me that you lost your soul. Or how about running around with Samuel for a whole year, letting me think that you were dead while you're doing all kinds of crazy. Those aren't mistakes, Sam. Those are choices!"

"All right. You said it. We've both played a little fast and loose."

"Yeah, I might have lied, but I never once betrayed you. I never once left you to die. And for what, a girl? You left me to die for a girl?"

Sam put a hand on the gun and punches Dean. He pushes Dean into a glass pane, which breaks, and punches Dean twice more. Dean backhands Sam, headbutts him, then kicks him across the room. Sam falls to the floor, then pulls himself up to lean against a sofa. Jamie jolts awake and coughs.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Garth says. He puts a hand on Jamie but she pushes him back, immediately getting up and gets between Dean and Sam.

"Jamie, don't." Sam says.

Jamie shakes her head, not taking her eyes off Dean. "No, he won't kill me. His beef isn't with me. You're not gonna shoot me, are you, Dean?"

Dean points the gun at Jamie. "Move."

"Hey, Dean. Woah, man. Pregnant chick." Garth says.

"Shut up Garth. Stay with Mark." Jamie tells him. She turns back to Dean and looks at the gun. "Oh please, you know me better than that."

Dean's hand shakes around the gun. "Don't test me! You were hunting when I told you not to! I told you to stay away, to protect our baby!"

Jamie shakes her head, taking a step towards him. "And shooting me accomplishes what? I'm still carrying your baby, Dean; you would turn that barrel on yourself before you squeezed that trigger, even with that spectre in you. Come on, Dean. You do not want to kill me anymore then you want to kill our brother. You've been protecting him your whole life. You're not going to stop now."

Dean takes a step back. "He left me to rot in Purgatory! And he abandoned you, just like he did before."

Jamie shakes her head. "Oh you know that's bullcrap. Sam and I just can't coexist without you. He didn't abandon either of us, Dean."

"Even if he did, I'm sure he had his reasons." Garth puts in.

"Just like you had your reasons for Benny." Sam adds.

Garth looks confused. "Who?"

Dean shakes his head, raising the gun around. "Benny has been more of a brother to me this past year than you've _ever_ been! That's right. Cas let me down. You let me down. Jamie, you've let me down! The only person that hasn't let me down is Benny."

Jamie walks towards him. "I know you're angry, Dean. We're all angry for some reason or another, but, bro, you've got to fight this thing." Dean looks over at Sam. "Do not do this! Just let it go. Come on, Dean."

Dean hesitates. "Goodbye, Sam." Dean tries to push past Jamie. Jamie punches him. The penny drops from Dean's hand. Jamie waves her hand and the penny slides out of Dean's reach. Garth picks up the penny.

"Garth, don't!" Sam yells.

"It's cool. It's all good. I'm cool."

Jamie holds unto Dean. Dean touches the black goo on his ear. Sam sighs. Garth looks at the penny.

Later that night Garth walks to his vehicle, carrying a bag. Dean and Jamie follow him.

"It took me forever to melt that penny, but it's finally gone." He says to the siblings.

Jamie nods. "Good."

"How come that penny didn't jack you like everyone else? I mean, I can understand why it didn't affect the kid who took it. He's young and innocent. But, uh, everyone at some point in their life feels like they've been screwed." Dean says.

Jamie nods. "Especially us."

"Yeah."

Garth shrugs. "Not me, man. I let all that stuff go with the help of my yogi, my Sega Genesis. And you should, too. You can't change the past, amigo." He turns to Dean. "Now, there's something I want to say to you. Stop being a idjit!" He yells. Dean flinches. "With Bobby dead, you, Jamie, and Sam are all each other has. And that's not so bad, man. Now, you know what's coming next, right?" He spreads his arms slightly. "Come on."

Dean looks away. "Oh..."

"Come on."

"Yeah, okay."

Garth hugs Dean. He steps back and hugs Jamie. Jamie grins and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. Garth blushes. "Thank you ma'am."

Jamie smiles. "Don't mention it."

"Hey, uh..." Dean takes Bobby's hat out of his back pocket and puts it on Garth's head. "Keep on truckin', Garth.:

"Thanks." He touches the brim of the cap in salute. One of his cell phones plays M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This." "Oh, got to go." He answers the phone. "Yo, Lamar. What do we got? Wendigo?"

Jamie looks up. "Wendigo?" She follows him as he gets into his vehicle, and stands next to him with the open door. "Does he have a flare gun?"

Garth pauses. "No."

"What about a flame thrower?"

Garth shakes his head. "Nope."

They laugh. "He's gotta run."

Garth turns back to his phone. "Jace Winchester says you'd better get some sneakers, buddy, 'cause you're gonna have to run. All right."

Jamie grins and steps back, slamming the door shut. Garth tries unsuccessfully to start his vehicle. He slams a hand on the steering wheel. "Balls!" He tries again to start his vehicle, this time with success. Jamie smirks. He gives Dean a thumbs-up and drives away. Jamie walks back over to Dean.

Sam closes the trunk of the Impala. Jamie finishes packing her truck and is buckling Mark into his carseat. Sam walks over to her. "Hey."

Jamie turns to him. "Hey. Why did you ask me about AJ earlier?"

Sam looks away. "I don't know, I guess…"

"Yes."

"What?"

Jamie nods. "Yes. I miss him. Every day I wake up and I look at Mark and I wonder how different our lives would be if he had lived, if he was Mark's father instead of…instead of Dean." She's twisting her ring and Sam notices.

"You still wear his ring." He points out.

"Yeah. I always will." A tear streaks down her face. "He was my soulmate, Sam."

"What about Cas?"

She chuckles. "Cas…we both know when Cas looked at me he only saw a blonde version of Dean." She pauses for a long moment and then nods to herself. "I loved him, I love him still, but…"

"Sometimes it's just not meant to be." Sam finishes. Jamie nods. Dean walks out and Sam turns away. She closes the door and watches Sam and Dean. "For the record, the girl – her name's Amelia. Amelia Richardson. She and I had a place together in Kermit, Texas."

Dean shakes his head. "Look, man, I don't even remember what I said, but, uh –"

"But what? But you didn't mean it? Oh, please. You and I both know you didn't need that penny to say those things." Sam rages.

Jamie sighs. "Sam…"

"Shut up, Jamie!"

"Hey! Come on, Sam!" Dean says, a little bit angry. He glances quickly at Jamie.

"Own up to your crap, Dean!" Sam yells. "I told you from the jump where I was coming from, why I didn't look for you. But you? You had secrets. You had Benny. And you got on your high and mighty, and you've been kicking me ever since you got back. But that's over. So move on, or I will." Jamie sighs and crosses her arms. Dean looks back at her and then at Sam. Sam bitchfaces. "Stop it with that too!"

"What?" Dean asks, confused.

Sam gestures to their sister. "With Jamie. She is my sister too."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

Jamie sighs, stepping forward. "You done?" She asks Sam.

"I'm serious."

Dean pauses and sighs. "Okay. I hear you."

"Good." Jamie sighs and looks at Dean. Dean sighs and shakes his head. Sam walks towards the passenger seat and faces Dean over the car. "You know what? Hear this, too. I just might be that hunter that runs into Benny one day and ices him."

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, won't we?"

"Yeah. Yeah. You keep saying that."


	51. 807 A Little Slice of Kevin

Castiel is watching television in the motel room. It's still daylight. Sam is using the laptop at the table, desperately searching for something, anything, to tip them off. Dean enters, carrying a six-pack of beer. "What's the latest?" He asks.

Sam looks up tiredly. "The latest is... nothing. It's like it all stopped. No freak disappearances linked to any freak natural events." Dean sets a beer down on the table for Sam and leans over Sam's shoulder to look at the laptop. Just then the door blows up, causing Dean to jump. Jamie walks in carrying Mark. "Jamie?"

"Jamie!" Dean yells in surprise.

"Hello, Jamie." Jamie stares at Castiel. He looks back at her. After a moment he gets up and walks over to her. He notices her stomach but doesn't say anything. Mark glances at Castiel, and starts fussing, reaching out to Dean.

"Daddy." Dean takes him. Castiel tries not to look hurt. Jamie looks at her brothers.

"You have problems." She tells them.

Dean sighs. "Why? What's going on now?"

Jamie stares at them for a moment. "How many names do you have?"

"Seven, right Sam?" Dean looks to their brother.

"Yeah, uh, Luigi, Just- "

Jamie interrupts. "Justin, Aaron, Maria –"

"Maria, Dennis, Krista, Sven." Cas finishes. Dean and Sam look at him, but he's looking at the TV. "I missed television."

Sam pauses for a moment and then turns to his sister. "Wait, Jamie, Cas. How did you know those are the names?"

Jamie sighs. "They're prophets."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Prophets?"

Cas nods. "Yeah, angels instinctively know the names of every prophet – past, present, and future."

Dean points to the papers in front of Sam. "So this list is the name of every one of 'em that exists?"

"Yes, until the next generation is born." Jamie explains. She shrugs and points to herself. "Plus yours truly."

"And Kevin Tran, of course." Cas adds.

Jamie nods. "Right."

"The other seven are future prophets, since, uh, only one can exist at a time. Except for Jamie…" Cas smiles at her.

"Because I'm the Voice."

"She is the prophet among prophets, so to speak." They share a look. Dean and Sam look at each other.

"Okay, uh, how is Kevin a prophet if Chuck is a prophet?" Sam asks.

"I'm not sure what happened to Chuck, but, um... he must be dead." Cas tells them.

"So, the next one comes off the bench if Kevin goes down?" Dean reasons.

"Exactly."

Cas gets up. "And they have no idea who they are, of course."

Sam nods. "Crowley."

Jamie turns to Sam. "Has to be."

Dean scoffs. "Insurance. Boy, he's getting desperate."

Sam nods. "Explains all the weird phenomena. Lower-level demons nabbing heavy-duty cargo. The vessels of God's Word – boom."

Castiel looks up. "I get the feeling something's going on."

"Phone." Mark says suddenly. Jamie and Dean look at their son.

Sam's phone rings. Sam looks at his nephew and then answers his phone. "Hello. Mrs. Tran? Well, where the hell have you... What?" He stands up and takes the phone away from his ear. Dean, Jamie, and Castiel look at him.

Jamie gasps. "Crowley's got Kevin."

Dean, Sam, Jamie, Mark, and Castiel are sitting in the Impala, which is parked by the side of a road. Night has fallen. Dean groans. "Where the hell is she?"

"She'll be here." Sam assures him. "Uh, mile marker 96 was kind of the halfway point."

Dean frowns suddenly pulled into a flashback of purgatory. Jamie inhales sharply and closes her eyes. She sees the portal shimmers with moving blue light. Dean and Cas are fighting Leviathans. Dean swings at the first Leviathan, who ducks and hurls him to the ground. Dean rolls downhill. Castiel attempts to put a hand on the Leviathan's head, but the second Leviathan kicks the back of Cas's legs and punches him as he falls to his knees. The Leviathans continue to punch and kick the angel, who falls heavily to the ground. The second Leviathan drags Cas to his feet. He hits her, sending her reeling backwards. The first Leviathan grabs Cas and his mouth transforms. Dean appears behind the first and decapitates him. Cas pushes the remaining Leviathan forward so that she is bent over and Dean decapitates her. He pulls Cas, who is kneeling, to his feet.

"We got to move! The portal's closing!" They climb upwards towards the portal. Cas stumbles. "Cas! Damn it! Come on!" Dean reaches the portal and steps into it. He stretches out a hand to Castiel. "Come on!" He grabs Dean's hand. "I got you! Hold on!"

"Dean!"

"Hold on!"

Cas loses his grip on Dean's hand and slides down. "Dean!"

The portal closes, taking Dean with it.

Jamie opens her eyes, tears wielding up. Dean glances back at Cas. "Cas, can I talk to you outside?"

They get out of the Impala. Sam turns and looks at Jamie. Jamie looks at him and then reaches out for his hand. He grabs her hand and closes his eyes. Jamie puts her free hand against the window. She and Sam can hear the conversation.

"What?" Cas asks.

"Exactly. What? What the hell happened? Back there. Purgatory. I told you I would get you out. We were there! It was like you just gave up. It's like you didn't believe we could do it. I mean, you kept saying that you didn't think it would work. Did you not trust me?" Dean rages, broken and hurt.

"Dean..." Cas tries to say.

"I did everything I could to get you out – everything! I did not leave you."

Cas hones in on Dean's guilt. "So you think this was your fault?"

Sam opens his eyes and looks at Jamie. She sighs. "_What are we gonna do?"_

"_I don't know, Sam. Dean truly thinks that it's his fault, and it's tearing him apart."_

"_You think Cas can fix him?"_

"_I don't know."_

A car drives up. Sam and Jamie get out of the Impala. Mrs Tran parks next to the Impala and gets out of her car. "You can do this, can't you? You can get him back?"

Jamie reaches out and touches her arm comfortingly. "We're gonna try."

"How did Crowley find you?" Dean asks.

"Oh, I hired a witch, and she ratted us out."

"A witch?" Sam looks surprised. "Why'd you hire a witch?"

"To make demon bombs, of course! These are Kevin's notes." She gives Sam a notebook. Jamie takes it from him and scans it over.

Dean sighs. "You have any idea where Crowley took him?"

"No. But, uh..." She unlocks the trunk of her car. "...this guy might."

The Demon she blasted with the Super-Soaker is inside the trunk bound by a Devil's Trap on the trunk lid. Jamie looks impressed. "Woah." She looks back at Mrs. Tran.

"Oh." Dean takes out his demon-killing knife. "Let's talk."

The Impala and Mrs Tran's car drive along the fence outside the factory in Atlantic, Iowa. Dean, Jamie, and Castiel are in the Impala. As Kevin's mother goes to get out of her car, Sam handcuffs her to the steering wheel. "Sorry, Mrs. Tran."

"Wait! What?!"

Dean opens the trunk of Mrs Tran's car. Jamie stands next to him with Mark balanced on her hip. "This it?" Dean asks the demon.

"Yes."

"My son is in there!" Mrs Tran yells.

"Which means Crowley already has leverage. He doesn't need another hostage." Sam explains to her.

"Oh come on!"

Jamie stabs the demon with the demon-killing knife. The demon's eyes and mouth glow with bright orange light as he screams. Dean smirks at his sister and closes the trunk. Mark giggles. "Dad." Dean ruffles his hair. Sam gets out of the other car and joins his siblings.

The siblings and the angel walk down stairs and under pipes of the factory. Dean and Jamie lead. Castiel is holding Mark. They pass a sign that reads "Beware: Sharp Edges - Keep Fingers Clear." At a sign from Dean and Jamie, they all step back out of sight as a demon approaches. Dean stabs the demon in the back with his demon-killing knife. Its head glows with yellow light as it dies.

"All right. I'll check that way." Sam says.

Jamie nods. "I'll go with Sam." She takes Mark from Cas. They go to the left. Dean nods to Castiel and they go to the right.

Sam and Jamie walk quietly down a flight of stairs. Jamie stops and puts her hand up to Sam. She points. He sees four demons in a room below them. He walks inside the factory with her just behind him. Four demons block their way.

"Winchesters." One of them sneers.

"In the flesh." Jamie replies, a cocky smirk on her face.

Sam holds his hands up. "Looks like you guys got us."

As the demons approach them, Jamie holds her hand out and fire sprays from her open palm, sending the demons backward. Sam takes out a bottle and throws it at the ground at the demons' feet. Jamie shields Mark and Sam covers his face as bright light flares and the demons burn up and disappear. The lights have no effect on Jamie. The demons' shadows are burnt into the wall behind them.

Sam gestures to his eyes. "Is that because you're a prophet or because you're weird?"

Jamie looks at him and then walks over to the door. Sam kicks it open. He enters the room and sees the bloodstained octagonal table. "Oh, no."

Jamie walks in behind him. "Don't be afraid." She says. The future prophets surface from underneath the table. A boy peers around a concrete block.

"Hey. Uh... we're here to help." Sam says.

Jamie stops short. "Sam…take Mark."

"Wha-" Sam takes his nephew and Jamie rushes out the door.

Dean tries to pick a lock on the other side of the factory, but he's having a hard time. "It's not working."

Cas stares at the door. "Dean, I'm going in."

Dean straightens up and turns to him. "Cas, no. You're not strong enough."

Jamie rushes towards them. "Cas, wait."

"There are more tablets? More than "Leviathan" and "Demon"?" Crowley realizes, staring at Kevin. Suddenly Castiel and Jamie appear in the room. Crowley looks up. "Jamie. How nice of the Voice to join us. And Castiel. Fresh from Purgatory. I wish you'd called first."

"Crowley." Cas sneers.

"Which Castiel is it this time? I'm never sure. Madman or megalomaniac?"

Jamie steps forward. "Kevin is coming with us."

Crowley chuckles. "I think not. The Prophet's playing on _my_ team now."

Castiel's knife drops into his hand and he holds it up. Crowley holds up his hand and his own knife materializes in it. Jamie grabs Kevin and pulls him back a few paces away, shielding him. "So this is how it's gonna be?"

"It's all very West Side Story, but let's be logical. You look like hell, and I should know. You're not up for this."

Jamie scoffs. "I wouldn't tempt him, Crowley."

Light shines from Castiel. His eyes appear very blue and lit from within. "Maybe you can get it up, but you can't keep it up." Jamie shoves Kevin against the wall and holds him there. The light coming from Castiel intensifies. Shadows of his unfurling wings appear on the wall behind him.

Jamie turns to Crowley. "You sure you want to risk this?"

Crowley looks at her and then at Cas. "You're bluffing!"

"Do you want to take that chance?" Cas asks, seriously.

Castiel stretches out a hand to Crowley. Crowley reaches for the stone tablet on the table. Jamie holds her hand out for the tablet. Castiel smashes the tablet and the table. Crowley disappears while holding half the tablet, the other half flying into Jamie's hand. Dean bursts into the room and goes to Cas, who is lying on the floor. The light that was emanating from him is gone. Jamie hands Kevin the remaining half of the stone tablet.

Outside the factory Cas is standing next to Dean, who is putting things in the trunk of the Impala. Jamie is standing next to them holding Mark. "That was a bonehead move back there." Dean remarks. He glances at Jamie. "Both of you. You could have gotten yourselves killed. Why didn't you wait for me?"

"Well, we didn't get killed." Cas tells him.

Jamie nods. "And it worked."

"Mama?" Mark asks, looking up at her.

She kisses his head. "Yeah?"

She walks a few steps away.

"And if it didn't?" Dean asks.

"It would have been my problem."

"Well, that's not the way I see it."

"Hey, everything isn't your responsibility. Getting me out of Purgatory wasn't your responsibility."

Jamie glances towards them and then looks down. She can feel the emotions radiating off of both of them. Dean's anger at himself and despair at Cas's fate. His feelings of failure, the strongest of any of them. And buried deep in the very darkest corners of his soul, the love that he holds for Cas. And Cas's love for Dean, hidden away, shielded by his sense of duty and his desire for forgiveness and penance. Jamie sighs deeply. Noone can hurt Dean like Cas can, and no one can destroy Cas like Dean can. But their love is real and Sam and Jamie both know it, just as they know neither will ever admit it.

"You didn't get out. So whose fault was it?" Dean asks, his voice laced with emotion as he stares at Cas.

"It's not about fault. It's about will. Dean, do you really not remember?"

Dean laughs. "I lived it, Cas. Okay, I know what happened."

"No. No, you think you know. You remembered it the way you needed to."

"Look, I don't need to feel like hell for failing you, okay? For failing you like I've failed every other godforsaken thing that I care about! I don't need it!"

"Just look at it. Really look at it." He touches Dean on the forehead. Jamie closes her eyes.

Back in Purgatory Dean and Cas are running uphill towards the portal. Cas stumbles.

"Cas! Damn it! Come on!" Dean reaches the portal and steps into it. He stretches out a hand to Castiel. "Come on!" Cas grabs Dean's hand. "I got you! Hold on!"

"Dean!"

"Hold on!"

"Dean!" He breaks Dean's grip. "Go!" The portal closes, taking Dean with it.

Castiel removes his fingers from Dean's forehead. Jamie opens her eyes. "See, it wasn't that I was weak. I was stronger than you. I pulled away. Nothing you could have done would have saved me, because I didn't want to be saved."

Dean looks hurt, confused, and a little angry. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Cas tries to smile. "It's where I belonged. I needed to do penance. After the things I did on earth and in heaven, I didn't deserve to be out. And I saw that clearly when I was there. I... I planned to stay all along. I just didn't know how to tell you. You can't save everyone, my friend... though, you try."

He looks at Dean and then to Jamie. Jamie moves back over to him. They stare at each other and then Castiel puts a hand on Jamie's stomach.

Dean sees the gesture. "Cas…"

He smiles. "I know it's your baby, Dean."

"And you're okay with it?" He asks cautiously. Jamie inwardly sighs at Dean's ignorance.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Dean shrugs. "I mean you two…are sort of together, right? Or will be, now that you're back."

Jamie looks at Castiel. Castiel looks at her. "No. We're not together." Jamie says definitively. They will never be together again. She won't let it happen again. It's not meant to be. She is not the Winchester Castiel loves.

Sam joins them. "Hey. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just, uh... setting a few things straight." Cas tells him.

"Good. Garth is gonna lay low with the Trans while he tries to track down the other piece. You're with us on this one, right, Cas?"

Cas has a faraway look on his face. Jamie gives him a look. "Cas, you okay?" There is something going on that she can't sense, and that worries her. She can't place it.

"I'm – I'm fine. And, yes, I'm with you – if that's all right." He looks specifically at Dean. Dean nods.

Jamie looks at Mark. "Guess you better take us home, if you're gonna join them." She glances at Cas.

"Of course."

Jamie walks away with Mark and Castiel follows her. Sam and Dean watch them leave. He turns to Dean. "Are they finally back together?" He tries to sound sincere, though he already knows the answer.

Dean shakes his head. "No, Jamie isn't taking him back."

Sam tries to look surprised. "Is it because of the baby?"

"No, it's other stuff. But they're good. They're okay." He nods to himself.

Sam smirks. "And you two, you two are good?"

Dean looks down. "Yeah."


	52. 809 Citizen Fang

Sam and Dean walk down a hallway in an old apartment building. Jamie meets them at the end of the hall. She's close to six months along now, but it's hidden under a baggy long sleeve t-shirt and long jacket. Sam is surprised to see her. "Jamie, what are you doing here?"

Jamie looks at Dean. "Dean called me."

Sam looks over at Dean. He shrugs. "What? She's psychic, she's the best person I know who can sort out this mess."

Jamie scoffs. "Uh, I also used to gank vampires for a living, and I was pretty damn good at it."

Sam smirks. "You're also on his side about Benny too, I bet."

Jamie chuckles. "Benny is the only reason Dean is standing here." Sam rolls his eyes and Dean smirks. "But he's also a vampire, and if he's killing again then we need to put him down." This time Sam smirks and Dean rolls his eyes.

Sam notices something important is missing. "So where's Mark?"

Jamie shrugs. "Spending time with Cas."

Dean looks almost shocked. "Really?"

Jamie nods. "What's Cas gonna do with him, take him to the Zoo?" Sam asks, amused.

"Yeah. Why, is that weird?"

Dean shrugs. "Well for Cas…"

As Sam raises his hand to knock on door number 2, Martin opens it. "You said look for an eruption. How's Mount Vesuvius?" He pauses seeing Jamie. "Who are you?"

Jamie grins. "Hey Martin. Been a long time, huh?"

"Wait." He recognizes her. "Jamie? John's little girl?" He looks at Dean and Sam for confirmation.

Jamie crosses her arms. "Jace Winchester, vampire slayer, at your service."

"It's a real pleasure to see you again." The siblings enter Martin's room and he closes the door behind them. "I got into town about a week ago. Up until last night, nothing. He's been clean."

"Doing what?" Dean asks.

"Just minding his own business. Working at the gumbo shack."

Dean looks slightly amused. "Benny's working at the gumbo shack?"

"Yeah. Slinging hash, pouring coffee – the whole bit. And he may be Benny to _you._ Folks around here call him Roy."

"Huh." Jamie looks at Dean.

Dean pauses. "Martin, you sure you're running on a full charge?"

"Y-yeah. L-l-little s-shock therapy in the morning, and I-I'm" He snaps fingers "good to go."

Jamie and Dean look at each other. Sam tries to smooth over the rising tension. "Tell us what happened last night."

"So, I followed him home, just like every night. He turned up a path. I hear a scream. I catch up. Then, boom – there he is. The old coot that Roy was eyeballing at the joint – vamped."

Jamie puts her hand out. "Wait, hold up."

Dean nods. "Did you actually _see_ Benny kill the guy or not?"

"I saw enough."

Dean leans forward. "Well, then, how can you be sure it was Benny if you didn't actually see him do it?"

"B-b-because I saw Benny turn up the path, and then two seconds later, I trip over a body with its throat ripped. Look, man, you – you ever hear of Occam's Razor? "Keep it simple, stupid"? It's not that complicated."

Jamie shakes her head. "There's a lot of holes, Martin."

"Holes? The only holes we should be looking at are in the vic's neck."

Dean turns to Sam. "This sound like the Benny you know?"

"I don't know Benny." Sam replies, shortly.

"Oh right." He turns to Jamie. "This sound like the Benny you know."

Jamie shakes her head.

"The Benny you know? Say what? Sam, why am I getting the distinct impression that your brother and sister are vouching for a vampire?"

Sam hesitates, getting between Martin and Dean. "Guys, let's not argue."

"Nobody's arguing, but if this _is_ Benny – and that's a big "if" –"

Martin cuts Dean off. "Oh, it's him."

"We'll see." Jamie remarks.

Dean shakes his head. "I got history with the guy, okay? I'm not signing up for a witch hunt." He turns to Sam. "I owe him more than that."

"What in God's great creation could a Winchester possibly owe a vampire? Am I hearing this right?"

Jamie pats Dean's chest. "Calm down, Martin. Dean's got this."

"Yeah. Look, until we get the facts, we stow the bloodlust and we work this case right, or we work it separately." He looks at Sam.

"Doing it right would be separating his head from his shoulders."

Jamie scoffs. "If anyone's head is coming off his shoulders, I'll be the one do it, clear?" She looks around at the men. Dean nods.

"We just need some time, Sammy."

"Oh, yeah. Let the fang take another life? I don't think so."

Sam ignores him. "How much time do you need?"

"You're not actually considering this?"

Jamie and Dean look at each other. Jamie shrugs. "Couple hours, tops." Dean tells him.

Sam raises an eyebrow. "And what if it turns out to be Benny?"

"Then it's Benny, and Jamie and I will deal with it!"

"Couple hours, guys. No more."

Jamie nods. "We'll be in touch."

Dean heads for the door and Jamie follows him. Martin follows them. "H-hey. Oh, look. Hey, uh –" Dean steps back and holds the door open for Jamie, then he walks out and closes the door behind him. Once they're down the hallway he looks at Jamie. She closes her eyes and puts her hands on Dean's temples. They hear Martin and Sam's words. "You're joking, right? We're doing this as soon as they pull away."

"No, we're not, Martin. We're gonna give them a little bit of time." Sam tells him.

"Hey, they're your siblings. It's your call. How long are you gonna let them go on like this? It's staring them right in the face."

Sam exhales sharply. "Well, sometimes it's not easy to see things for what they are."

Jamie takes her hands away and she and Dean stare at each other before walking away. "What's your plan here?" Jamie asks as they walk down the hall.

He looks at her. "To deal with Benny?"

"To deal with Martin and Sam." They walk down the stairs and out of the building.

"I know how to get Sam out of the way. Hey," he turns to her as they get to the Impala, "how are you and Cas?"

Jamie stares at him. "We're not getting back together." She gets into the passenger seat.

"Why not?"

She shakes her head. "We aren't meant for each other, Dean."

"Jamie…"

She scoffs. "Castiel is not Mark's father. We've been over this. That was the one tie I had to him, and it's gone, so there is no reason for us to be together."

"I know." Dean sighs. " But you have to forgive him, Jamie."

"It's not about forgiveness!" She yells.

Dean nods, realizing. "AJ is dead. He has been gone for what six years maybe seven? Isn't it time for you to move on?"

Jamie plays with her engagement ring. "I will never stop loving him, Dean. I look at Cas, and I…I…Cas…"She looks away. "When Cas looks at me, he doesn't see Jamie Winchester. It's not me he loves."

Dean sighs. "Well then if not you, then who?"

Jamie stares at him and then shakes her head.

Dean enters the gumbo shack with Jamie beside him. They sit down at the counter. Elizabeth puts a menu in front of them but Dean holds his hand up. "Actually, I already know what I want."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, me too."

"Let me guess – gumbo?" Elizabeth smiles.

Dean chuckles. "Was gonna be the gumbo till I saw…" he points and clicks his tongue. "…pie."

"Well, the special's pecan."

"'Course it is. Let's do that."

Elizabeth looks at Jamie. "And you sweetie?"

"Pie too, please."

Elizabeth nods and walks away. Dean looks at photographs pinned up behind the counter, including one of Benny with Elizabeth. He points it out to Jamie. Elizabeth returns. She sighs. "Bad news."

"You're out of pecan. Story of my life. Uh, that's all right. Maybe you can make it up to me. We're actually looking for an old friend of mine. I heard he's kicking around these parts. His name's Roy."

She nods. "Well, Roy works the night shift here. I mean, if we're talking about the same Roy."

"Uh, yeah, he, uh, putts around in a – a beat-up camper."

Jamie snickers. "Thing looks like a rolling death trap."

Elizabeth laughs. "Yeah, I thought I was the only one who gave him trouble over that piece of junk."

Dean laughs. "You wouldn't happen to know where he's parking that thing these days, would you?"

"Well, he, uh, was parking it out back, but just called to tell me he's gone up the road to Mill Creek for a few days."

"Okay. Uh, did he say why?"

"Oh... fishing, I think."

"Fishing, huh?" Jamie glances at Dean. "That's…cool."

"He really deserves a break. He's been working doubles for the last two weeks straight."

"Um, listen, I, uh, I tell you what." Dean writes on a piece of paper. "If he pops up before we can find him, you do me a favor and just have him give me a buzz. Or..." he slides the piece of paper over to Elizabeth." ...could just drop a dime yourself. He smiles.

"Sure thing..."she picks up the piece of paper "...Dean." She looks at Jamie. "You the wife?"

Jamie gets up. "Sister. I'm Jamie. "

Dean stands up. "And, uh, you are...?"

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth. All right. Take a rain check on that pie."

"Definitely."

Jamie turns to leave. "Come on, Dean."

Dean raps his knuckles on the counter and leaves. Elizabeth watches him go and looks at the piece of paper.

Outside Jamie leans against the Impala, watching as Dean makes a call on his cell phone.

"_Leave a message at the beep."_

Dean looks at Jamie. "Benny. I got a body here in Carencro with two holes in it, and I just found out you went fishing. Do I need to tell you what this looks like?" He hangs up.

Jamie looks up. "It aint him, Dean." Dean looks over at her.

Down at the creek Benny washes his bloody hands in a well. Someone walks up behind him. "It's not me, Dean."

"Now, which "me" are we talking about – Benny, or Roy?" Benny turns to face Dean and Jamie. Dean is holding a machete behind his back. Jamie is standing a step behind him.

Benny looks past Dean. "You must be Jamie." He nods to her. "Pleasure to meet you at last."

Jamie nods back. "Pleasure is all mine."

Benny turns back to Dean. "I'm just trying to blend in, Dean."

"Blend in? Who'd you plant, Benny?" He gestures to the fresh grave.

"Victim number two. If you're concerned about the missed calls, I didn't want to get you involved. Now... Want to safety that thing..." he puts his hand on his own machete "...talk a little bit or what?"

Dean takes his machete out from behind his back. Jamie crosses her arms. "I'm all ears."

"Rogue vamp." He mutters, turning away.

Jamie's eyes glaze over. "Came into the café a couple nights ago." She blinks. "Desmond." Dean raises an eyebrow.

Benny chuckles. "Ahh, Dean told me all about your gifts. I have to say, it's an honor." He smiles at her, she smirks. "Yeah, Desmond, youngster he is. He, uh, he remembers me from the good old days."

"The good old days?" Dean asks.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I haven't always been this cute and cuddly. He's chasing a memory, Dean. That's all. He's crewing up a new nest. He's hoping I can give him some cred. I told him no."

Jamie nods. Dean sighs. "All right. So far, so good. Let's get to the part about the blood."

Jamie looks at her brother. "It's Desmond. He's the one doing the killings."

Benny nods. "Didn't want to take no for an answer. He's trying to roust me out, leaving dead bodies in my wake till I sign up. Two bodies in two days. No amateur is gonna kick me out of my hometown, Dean. Not this time."

Dean looks surprised. "Hometown? You grew up here?"

"Born and bred. With Andrea gone and you hunting again, seemed like the right time for a homecoming – you two being the only ones who keep all my ducks in a row. Went back to my old job at the café. I even found someone to hold myself accountable to. Best kind of someone, Dean. Family."

"Elizabeth." Dean takes a few steps past Benny and sheathes his machete. Jamie's eyes light up.

"My great-granddaughter."

"Wow." Jamie rubs her belly.

"Really?" Dean makes a face, still facing away from Benny.

Benny raises an eyebrow. "Now, hold it, now. You didn't –"

"Uh, no. " He chuckles as he turns around. "No."

"No." Jamie assures him. "Does she know?"

"No. No, as far as she's concerned, I was just another drifter. I'd like to keep it that way. It's been tough walking the line here after all those years in Purgatory not having to deal with the hunger. But Elizabeth... She keeps me honest. I finally feel like I got a handle on this thing."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Handle on things? Benny, you've got two stiffs on your hands and two hunters on your ass."

Benny smirks. "Oh, please. The half-wit who found me at the café? I'll take my chances with him."

"That half-wit was sent by our brother." Dean shoots back.

Jamie nods. "Yeah, and trust me – our brother's not someone you want to mess with."

"I don't have time to worry about them. I didn't think Desmond had an ounce of steel in his spine, but I was wrong about that. So now I'm gonna do what I should have done two days ago, which is put him back where he belongs."

"You know there's only one way to do that, right? And that is for you to sit on the sideline while we convince Sam and Martin to go after Desmond. They see you out there, they don't care if you're gonna be collecting for the March of Dimes."

Jamie steps forward. "They are gonna slice first and ask questions later. You know that." She narrows her eyes at Benny.

Benny isn't convinced. "You really think they'll go for that?" Dean sighs. Jamie sighs, she rubs her stomach, a pained look on her face. Benny notices. "You okay, darlin'?"

Dean whirls around immediately. "The baby?" he demands.

"We're fine, Dean." She tells him.

"Let me get this straight." Martin is leaning against the refrigerator with a glass in his hand. Sam and Jamie are sitting down on the bed and Dean is standing. "I follow your boy... down a freaking path and trip over fresh vamp kill, and then you practically catch him in the act... " he takes an ice cube tray out of the freezer compartment "...of burying a second body, and you're still taking his side?"

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Vampires pick people off from the outskirts of town, okay?"

"Pfffft!" He stabs the ice cube tray with a fork to loosen the ice cubes.

Dean nods. "Not in the cafés that they work in with their great-grandkids. In fact, killing _any_ human – it's not his style."

"Not his style? Not his style?"

Sam turns to his siblings. "Listen, Dean, Jamie, we came here on a dead body. You asked for some time, and now there's another dead body. Are we just going on trust here?"

Martin takes a sip of his drink and looks at Dean and Jamie.

"Yes." They reply at the same time.

"Okay. Because we've killed for a lot less, and you know how these things turn out for us." Sam reminds them.

"Yes, I do – too well. In fact, every relationship I have ever had has gone to crap at some point." Jamie glares at him. "But the one thing I can say about Benny – he has _never_ let me down."

Sam is a little let down. "Huh. Well, good on you, Dean. Must feel great finally finding someone you can trust after all these years." He says sarcastically.

"Shut up, Sam." Jamie shoots back.

Dean looks down, then back up at Sam. "All I'm saying is that Benny is innocent."

Sam stands up. "No. You're too close to this."

Jamie turns to him. "Well I'm saying Benny is innocent."

"You're on Dean's side. Like always."

She rolls her eyes. "My god, Sam. You have got to get over this."

Dean steps towards him. "You're not gonna find him. And if you do, I'm gonna tell you this. You'll be lucky to get out alive. And _you –_ " he points to Martin "you go with him, you're a dead man – period."

Martin drains his drink and picks up a knife. Sam sighs. "These are innocent lives we're talking about, Dean. And you're willing to risk that on Benny's word alone?" Martin moves to stand behind Dean.

"Damn right I am." Dean tells him.

"Dean!" Jamie gets off the bed just as Martin hits Dean hard in the back of the head with the hilt of the knife. Dean falls to the ground, unconscious.

Sam slowly looks up at Martin. "What... was that?"

"You son of a bitch!" Jamie rushes at Martin and punches him in the face. Sam grabs her and tries to pull her off him. Martin pulls back and punches her, knocking her out. Sam catches her.

"Woah, woah, hey! She's pregnant!"

"Ain't lethal." Martin replies, deadpan.

Sam lies her on the bed. "Are you insane?"

"Dean and Jamie made their choice. Let's go do our job."

Jamie wakes up awhile later, and groans. She's blindfolded and her hands are tied behind her. Dean is handcuffed to the radiator. "Oh. Ugh. Dean?"

Dean groans and comes too. "Jamie?"

"Yeah."

"Did he hurt you?"

Jamie groans. "If I say yes, will you kill him?"

Dean is struggles for his lockpick. "Uh huh."

"Then yes." She replies. She struggles against the blindfold till it slips down. Dean is attempting to free himself from the handcuffs. There is blood on his face.

"Come on." The handcuff unhitches and he moves over to Jamie. "Need some help?"

"Shut up. You're the reason I look like this." Dean undoes the cuffs from Jamie's wrists and gets up. He takes his cell phone out of his jacket, which he was wearing when Martin hit him, but is now on the bed. Jamie gets up and gets a towel. She cleans the blood off Dean's head. Dean looks at her and they share a look.

Dean dials Benny's number and he answers. "What'd they say?"

Jamie cleans the blood off Dean's face as he talks to Benny. "They didn't go for it. They're on their way to you. I'd get scarce."

"No offense, Dean, but your little brother doesn't exactly put chills up my spine."

Jamie looks at Dean and takes the phone. "Benny, listen to me. Do _not_ underestimate our brother, okay? He can and will kill you given the chance."

"All right. So, what now?"

Jamie passes the phone back to Dean. "We go find Desmond."

"You take me with."

Jamie grabs their bags and follows Dean out the door. They walk out into the hallway. "Hey, I just told you – best thing you can do is lay low."

"That ain't gonna work this time, bub. You take me with, or I don't tell you where he is."

Dean looks at Jamie. "You know where he is?" He says into the phone.

"He said he's not gonna stop the killing till I join his little nest. Two bodies is enough. I told him I'm in."

"Benny."

"Dean, this is _my_ fight. Are you in or are you out?"

Dean stands next to the Impala with his phone to his ear and sighs. He looks at Jamie and she nods.

Dean pulls up to the shipyard in the Impala and parks. Benny is waiting for them, holding a machete. Dean gets out of the Impala and takes out his own machete. Jamie gets out of the other side. "No knife, Jamie?" Jamie points to the one of the posts on the dock. She squeezes her hand into a fist and turns it. The post splinters into a thousand pieces. Benny raises an eyebrow and looks at Dean who smirks.

"This the place, huh?" He opens the trunk. So, what's the plan? We hang back while you guys do some trust falls and binge-drinking?" He puts a syringe of dead man's blood in his jacket pocket.

"Man, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you have an extremely low opinion of us vamps."

"Pssh. Call it healthy skepticism."

Jamie snickers.

Dean, Jamie, and Benny enter the shipyard building. Dean nods in one direction and Jamie nods. She and Benny go off in another direction. Dean looks around with a flashlight. Someone crosses the room behind him and he turns, but sees no one. Dean goes to investigate and Desmond drops lightly to the ground behind him. He advances on Dean, who turns and swings with his machete. Desmond sends him flying to the ground, then straddles him.

His fangs descend. "Benny never told me he was bringing a friend."

"You're not gonna talk a lot, are you?" Dean reaches for his syringe of dead man's blood. "I've been dealing with crazy... all day." He tries to jab him with the syringe, but Desmond catches his hand and squeezes it, breaking the syringe. Dean groans. Desmond forces Dean's hand down and slashes at his neck with a fingernail, cutting him. He licks his blood from his fingers, then snarls and lunges at Dean's neck. Jamie steps forward and throws her hands out. Desmond flies back into Benny, who catches him. Benny pulls Desmond upright and decapitates him. His head falls from his body and lands next to Dean's head. "Son of a... It took you long enough."

"You've lost a step, friend." He gives Dean his hand to pull him to his feet. "You need to lay off the junk food."

Jamie walks over to them. Dean touches the cut on his neck and winces. "Aah!"

"Dean." Jamie grabs a rag from her jeans and puts it against Dean's neck. Benny hears Dean's heartbeat as he looks at the cut. His eyes narrow and his lips twitch. Jamie narrows her eyes. "Benny?"

"You okay?" Dean asks.

Jamie grabs unto Dean, ready to pull him backward. Benny raises his eyes to Dean's. "Walk away, Benny." Jamie mutters.

"I'm fine." He turns and slowly walks away. Dean, walks out into the shipyard holding a rag to his neck. He walks over to Benny. Jamie follows behind him. "My life here is over, isn't it?"

"Afraid so."

Jamie nods. "Once word gets out... The machete swingers that'll come for you... You can't take them all. It's impossible."

Dean nods. "And even if you could..."

"We'd have a problem." Benny finishes.

"Guys like us, we don't get a home. We don't get family."

Benny turns to look at him. "What do you call you two and your baby?" He gestures to Jamie's stomach. "And your son?" Jamie looks away. Benny looks at Dean. "And Sam?"

Dean pauses. "Yeah. Benny, you got to go deep underground, where _nobody_ knows who you are."

"Yeah. I got one last thing I got to do." HHe walks away.

Benny smiles as he watches Elizabeth, who is working inside the cafe. Dean and Jamie stand next to him.

"Time to go, buddy." Dean tells him.

Benny holds out his hand and Dean takes it. "Thanks for not giving up on me, brother."

"Don't give me a reason to."

Benny claps Dean on the back and turns to Jamie. "I never got to tell you thank you, for keeping my brother alive for a year." She tells him.

Benny nods. "My pleasure, ma'am. Give me a call when this little lady makes her appearance, would ya?"

She smiles. "Sure." They hug. Benny gets into his vehicle. Dean raises a hand in farewell as Benny drives away, and then wraps his arm around Jamie. "We're screwed up, Dean. But we're still family. Sam is still family."

He sighs. "I know."

She looks up at him. "You'll forgive him, eventually."

"Let's go."

Dean drives down the road. Jamie is in the passenger seat. She dials a number on Dean's phone and puts it on speaker. "Hey, Dean." Comes Martin's voice.

"Look, I'm just calling to let you know that the situation is resolved. Benny was not lying. There _was_ another vamp, and we ganked him – together." Dean says pointedly.

"Oh. That's good, Dean."

"Yeah, shut up and listen to me. Benny's long gone, and he won't be coming back, ever. So for your own sake, do not follow him. Are we clear?"

"You don't have to worry about me, Dean. I'm long gone, too."

"Oh, and, Martin?"

"Yeah?"

"Find a new line of work." Dean and Jamie say together.

Dean hang ups. Jamie looks at Dean. She winces and grabs her stomach. "Jamie?"

Jamie shakes her head. "I'm fine. It's…It's Emmy…she knows something is wrong."

Dean looks concerned. "What?"

Jamie shakes her head.

Awhile later Dean is driving. Jamie is asleep in the passenger seat. Dean taps the steering wheel in time with the music.

_I feel all right_

Dean sings along with the music.

_I feel all right tonight _

Jamie opens her eyes suddenly. "Oh my god!" Dean looks over at her. His phone rings.

"Yeah?"

"Dean?" It's Elizabeth.

"H-hang on." He turns off the music. "Elizabeth?"

Jamie sits up straight, looking at Dean concerned.

"Y-you told me to call you if I saw... him."

Dean glances worriedly at Jamie. "What do you mean? Roy? Is – is he there right now? Elizabeth, what's going on?"

"Just come."

The tires screech as Dean does a 180 degree turn at a crossroads and accelerates.

Elizabeth is sitting on the steps outside the café as Dean and Jamie pull up in the Impala. Her hands are shaking. They walk over to her and she points to the inside of the café. Jamie goes inside. Dean takes a towel out of a pocket and holds it to the cut on Elizabeth's neck. He puts a hand on her shoulder as he walks past her into the café.

Dean enters and sees blood on the floor. Jamie looks up towards him from across the café. Her face is solemn. Dean walks across the café to her and finds Martin dead on the floor in a large pool of blood. Martin's bloody knife lies next to him and his neck is badly mauled. Dean looks up at Jamie. She holds her stomach.

Later that night Dean is driving, Jamie is looking out the window. "Dean. Phone." She looks at him. A phone rings. Dean looks around, Jamie leans over and takes a phone out of the glove compartment. She hands it to Dean. The display reads "Sam calling." He answers.

"Sammy?"

"Sam, I need your help. Come quick." Nice one. Swapping Amelia's phone out with a burner, sending a distress signal... You got me good. When did you do that?"

Dean looks at Jamie. "While back, in case I needed it." Jamie smirks lightly. "Looks like I made the right call. So, did you see her?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I saw her. And she's doing just fine. But, of course, you know that."

"Actually, I didn't. I did know it was the only way to get you to lay off."

"So? Is it done?"

"Yeah, it's done."

"Jamie alright? The baby fine?"

Jamie leans in and Dean holds the phone out to her. "We're okay, Sam."

" Any casualties?"

Dean frowns. Jamie sighs. "Martin."

Sam pauses. "Was it Benny?"

Jamie and Dean share a look. Jamie looks away. Dean pulls the phone back. "He had it coming, Sam. I'll tell you what happened."

"I-I _know_ what happened, Dean."

"Okay, you want to listen to me or not?"

"Nope." Jamie mutters. Sam hangs up. "Like I said."

"Damn it." He angry throws the phone down and looks over at Jamie. "If you want to say anything, say it now."

Jamie smirks. "If it was us we'd have offed him too. Hell, I'm pissed I didn't get the chance." She looks out the window.

Dean chuckles lightly. "That's my girl."

She scoffs. "Yeah, if Dad could see us now."

He grins, reaching over to rub her stomach. "I think the fact that you're carrying my baby would bother him more than Benny." She laughs. Dean snickers, he wraps his arm around her shoulders and she leans into the hold.


	53. 812 As Time Goes By

"Thanks for helping us with the werewolf, Jamie." Dean, Sam, and Jamie are getting ready to leave. Dean tries to dress Mark and himself at the same time. Sam is brushing his teeth in the mirror. Jamie sits on the bed, braiding her hair back as she watches Dean and Mark.

"Please, like I was going to miss a chance to gank a wolf. Besides, Dean left all the silver bullets in my bag." Dean grimaces in embarrassment. "God I'll be happy when I can see my feet again." She stands up and rubs her back. Sam snickers quietly.

"Come on, buddy. What's wrong with this shirt?" Dean struggles to get Mark into his t-shirt.

"Want da black." He whines.

"The black one is dirty." Dean tells him.

Mark pouts and the t-shirt Dean is holding turns black. Dean jumps back a little. Jamie looks over. "Mark, quem ego dixi vobis uti quid viribus tuis?" Mark pouts again.

"Mama…black one." He points to the shirt Dean is now holding. Jamie sighs and nods to Dean, who puts the t-shirt on him.

"He understands Latin?" Sam asks, looking over at them.

"Angels comprehend all languages." She tells him.

"His powers are getting scary." Dean says, bending over to tie his boot laces.

Jamie rolls her eyes. "They are not. He's got pretty good control over them. For a three year old." She smiles at her son.

"Yeah, it's not like he set the motel on fire." Sam says with a smirk.

"One time! One time that happened, and you scared me!" Jamie shoots back.

Mark disappears and reappears in Jamie's arms. Dean raises an eyebrow. Jamie sighs, moving Mark unto her hip. Sam looks back at the mirror. Jamie rubs her pregnant stomach and inhales sharply. Dean and Sam both raise their heads, concerned. She stares at the closet. A moment later Henry falls out of the closet.

"Which of you is John Winchester?" He demands getting up. The siblings, startled look at each other. "Please, time is of the essence! Which of you is John Winchester?"

Sam is the first to speak. "Uh, neither."

Henry looks shocked. "That's impossible. That's absolutely... What did I do wrong?"

Dean quickly composes himself, getting up. "Who the hell are you, mister?"

"Not now. I'm thinking." Dean grabs Henry, pushes him against the wall and holds him there with an arm across his chest. "Please. I can assure you there's no need for violence. One of you must know John Winchester."

Jamie takes a step forward. "What do you want with John Winchester?"

Henry looks past Dean to her. "So you do know him?"

Sam steps in front of Jamie, blocking her from Henry's view. "I'll tell you what – when one of us falls out of your closet, _then_ you can ask the questions."

Henry relents. "Yes, my apologies. Is it absolutely essential, sir, that you keep your hands on me?" He stares at Dean for a moment. Dean steps back. "Thank you. Gentlemen, in the absence of any and all other explanations, I'm afraid this has been a marvelous, tragic misunderstanding. I'll be on my way."

Dean and Sam look at Jamie. She shakes her head. Sam takes another step forward. "That's not happening."

Henry looks at Sam frustrated. "There are things of grave importance. I do not have time to deal with the likes of you."

Dean picks up handcuffs from a bag on the table and Sam grabs Henry. Dean takes hold of Henry's wrist. "You're not going anywhere, 007, till we get some answers."

Dean tries to handcuff Henry to a chair, but in one motion Henry breaks away and handcuffs Dean and Sam to the chair.

"Hey!" Jamie throws her hand out, sending Henry crashing into the wall. He gets up and hurriedly leaves through the door.

"How did he do that? You got to be kidding me!" Dean yells. He and Sam struggle with the handcuffs. Jamie walks over to them and makes a twisting motion with her hand, causing the cuffs to unlock.

Henry looks at the cars in the car park and a man pushing a modern baby stroller. He sees the impala, walks behind it and looks at the registration sticker on the license plate, which reads "9-2013."

"2013. My God. Guess the Mayans were wrong." He walks to the driver's side, waits until a maid goes inside a room, then breaks the window of the Impala with his elbow. He unlocks the door and gets in. Dean cocks his gun and points it at Henry through the open window. Jamie is standing behind him.

"Nice taste in wheels."

Sam opens the passenger side door. Henry glances at him and then to Dean. "Yours, I presume?"

Back in the motel room Henry sits in a chair. Water splashes his face and he laughs. "And there with the holy water."

Sam looks at Dean and Jamie. "He's clean."

"I could have told you that." He pulls down his sleeve over a cut on his left arm.

Dean is leaning against the table with his arms crossed. "Yeah, well, you can start by telling us everything before I beat it out of you."

"I'm quite certain this is all beyond your understanding, my alpha-male-monkey friend. And violence will not help you comprehend this any easier." Henry tells Dean.

Jamie snickers and shakes her head. "My god. You have no idea who you're dealing with." She looks at Dean who gets up quickly in a fit of anger and points his gun at Henry,grabbing the front of his jacket.

"Let me tell you what I understand! Some asshat pops out of my closet asking about my dad, smashes up my ride. So why am I not getting violent, again?" Dean demands.

Henry looks surprised. "John Winchester is your father?" Dean glances to Sam and Jamie, who look at him with solemn expressions.

There is a loud rattling noise. Jamie's head shoots up. She steps back, cradling Mark who fusses. "Mama. Demon, Mama." He says against her chest. Jamie looks at her son and then at Dean who rushes over to them.

"What is that?" Henry gets to his feet. "Oh, my God."

"What?" Dean asks.

"Run!" Henry yells.

"Jamie, get out of here!" Sam says. Dean pushes her towards the door. The closet door bursts opens in a flash of bright light and Abaddon, the demon steps out. She notices Henry first.

"Henry." She laughs. "Silly man, you forgot to lock the door. But then spells never were your best subject, were they? Why don't you be a doll and give me what I want? And I promise to kill you and your friends here quickly."

Henry stares at her. "You know I can't do that."

The demon smiles. "You're not a fighter, Henry."

Dean raises his gun. Abaddon lifts her arms and sends Dean and Sam flying into the walls. Jamie sinks down against the door with Mark. Dean groans. Jamie glances over at him. He rolls over and looks towards her. Henry tries to move but Abaddon holds up a hand to stop him.

"Josie. I know you're still in there. You must fight this."

"I'm afraid Josie's indisposed, pet. It looks like it's just you and me."

Dean stabs Abaddon in the back with his demon-killing knife. She screams and falls to her knees with gold light flashing inside her body.

"Ohh! Aah!" The light flashing in her body ceases. "Well, that is no way to treat a lady."

She starts to get up but Jamie steps out and raises her hand, sending fire streaming for Abaddon, who is momentarily stunned. Henry looks shocked. Sam gets to his feet.

"Go!" Jamie yells, still holding her hand out. "Now!" Sam, Dean and Henry run from the room. Jamie follows behind them.

Dean and Henry jump into the front seats of the Impala. Sam jumps into the back seat behind Henry. Jamie hands him Mark and hurries inside.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go!" Sam yells to Dean, clutching Mark to him. Dean backs out of the parking spot while Sam and Jamie are still closing their doors and drives away towards an oncoming car, tires squealing.

The Impala drives along a narrow road and passes under a large bridge. Dean pulls over to the side of the road and Henry gets out of the passenger seat. He hurries a short distance away and vomits. Sam, Jamie, and Dean also get out of the car. Jamie hangs back, leaning against the car, and comforts Mark whose crying.

"Are you okay?" Sam asks, walking over to Henry.

"Yes, I will be." He vomits again, then wipes his mouth with a handkerchief. "It's just all the adventures I enjoy are usually of the literary nature."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, now that you're done blowing chunks, you want to tell us who Betty Crocker was?"

Henry looks over at him. "Abaddon. She's a demon."

Sam scoffs. "No kidding. Where'd she come from?"

"Where'd _you_ come from?" Dean adds.

"She's from Hell. I'm from Normal, Illinois – 1958."

Dean turns around, looking pissed. "Yeah, right. Seriously? Dudes time-travelling through motel-room closets? That's what we've come to?" he stares at Sam.

Jamie shrugs, bouncing Mark slightly in her arms. "He's telling the truth." Dean and Sam give her a look, she shrugs again.

Henry looks past the boys to Jamie. "You. I've never seen anyone, let alone a psychic, conjure fire like that. How did you do it?"

Dean takes a step forward but Jamie stops him. "It's alright Dean." She mutters. She takes a step towards Henry. "It was a gift." She tells him, looking down at Mark as she speaks. "God gave it to me."

"God?" There's a slight disgust in Henry's voice. Sam and Dean give each other a look, backing off Henry only slightly. "Why? How?"

"I'm a prophet." Jamie answers.

Henry steps back in shock. "A prophet? I have never met a prophet, I am deeply honored."

Dean scoffs. "Well, save it, pal. Stop gawking at my sister."

Henry shakes his head. "Look, if you could just take me to John, we could clear all this up, I'm sure."

Dean narrows his eyes. "I've told you that's not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"Because he's dead!" Dean yells. Sam frowns. Jamie looks away.

"No." Henry turns away.

Jamie's eyes widen. "Oh my god." Dean and Sam glance at her. She looks down at Mark, holding him closer.

"What's it to you?" Sam asks, turning his attention back to Henry.

"Everything." Henry stares at all three siblings. "I'm his father."

Henry is sitting at a table in a diner holding a black-and-white photograph of himself holding a baseball with his arm around a young boy holding a bat. Dean, Jamie, and Sam are standing at the counter. Jamie is holding Mark whose asleep. Sam looks to Dean. "Driver's license says he's Henry Winchester from Normal, Illinois."

"He knows Dad's birthday, the exact place where he was born." Jamie continues.

"Dude, that's our grandfather." Sam finishes.

Dean sighs, putting his arm up. "I'm just saying before we break out the warm and toasties, let's not forget that, uh, H.G. Wells over there left Dad high and dry when he was a kid."

Sam shrugs. "But maybe he didn't run out on Dad – I mean, not on purpose." He looks at Jamie.

She nods. "Maybe he time-traveled here and, I don't know, got stuck."

"Yeah, well, either way, Dad hated the son of a bitch." Dean looks away.

Sam sighs. "And Dad made up for that how? By being father of the year?" He gestures to Jamie who is looking away.

A Waitress sets trays of food down in front of Dean, Jamie, and Sam. "Here you go."

Jamie nods to her. "Thanks."

Dean turns back to his siblings, picking up the tray. "Look, Dad had his issues, okay, but he was always there for us."

"He was always there for you." Jamie shoots back. Sam frowns.

Dean shakes his head. "Jamie…" Jamie shakes her head. "I freaking hate time-travel, man." He mutters.

Dean and Sam carry the trays of food to the table where Henry is sitting and sit down across the table from him. Jamie sits down beside Dean.

"How you doing?" Sam asks, watching Henry quickly put the photo away.

"I'll be fine. After all, despite everything, I've just met my grandchildren, haven't I?" He holds out a hand to Sam. "Henry Winchester. It's a pleasure."

Sam shakes his hand. "Sam."

"Hello, Sam."

He turns to Jamie and holds his hand out. Jamie doesn't take it. "I'm Jamie." She rubs Mark's back. "This is Mark." She gestures to her baby.

Henry smiles. "Your son?"

She nods. "Mmmhmm."

Henry glances at Jamie's stomach and then clears his throat. "And you're uh…in a family way?"

"Yeah um, this is Emmy." She caresses her belly. Dean reaches over and puts his hand on her stomach for a moment. Jamie smiles at him and he smiles back at her, planting a quick kiss on Mark's head.

Henry holds out his hand to Dean. Dean picks up a basket of food from the tray in front of Sam and sets it down in front of Henry. "Dinner."

Sam sighs. "This is Dean."

"Right."

Dean scoffs. "Well, this has been touching. How about we figure out how to clean up your mess, huh?"

Henry nods. "Abaddon. Yes. She must be stopped."

"How come she didn't die when I stabbed her?" Dean asks.

"Because demons can't be killed by run-of-the-mill cutlery. At the very least…"

"We'd need an ancient demon-killing knife of the Kurds?" Jamie finishes, cutting him off. "Dean." She looks at her brother.

Dean takes his knife partway out of his jacket. "That's what this is."

Henry stares at them in shock. "Where'd you get that?"

Dean shoves the knife back into his jacket. "Demon gave it to me. We've been around this block so many times."

Jamie smirks. "Too many times."

Sam ignores his siblings, turning his attention to Henry. "Now, that portal or whatever it was you came through – is it still open?"

"I highly doubt it. Why?"

"I'm just thinking if we can't kill this Abaddon –"

"– maybe we can shove her back where she came from." Dean finishes for Sam. He looks at Henry. "How did you do it?"

Jamie looks at Henry and then at her brothers. "He used a blood sigil. Blood leads to blood. Or the next person down the line."

Henry stares at Jamie. Dean and Sam don't seem phased.

Sam looks at Jamie. "But Abaddon came through it, also, right?" Jamie nods. Sam looks at Henry. "So can you create this blood sigil again?"

Henry shrugs. "Oh uh my blood, an angel feather, tears of a dragon, a pinch of the sands of time – I – I would need those and... at least a week for my soul to recharge, but, yes, it's possible."

Sam looks surprised. "You tapped the power of your soul to get here? I thought only angels could do that."

"You should know this. What level are you three?" Henry gives them a confused look.

"What level?" Dean asks.

"Level of knowledge. You're Men of Letters, correct?" Henry asks.

Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Men of Letters?" Sam and Dean look at each other and then at Jamie. Jamie shrugs.

Dean turns back to Henry. "I'm a little rusty on my boy bands. Men of what?"

"Men of Letters, like your father, who taught you our ways." Henry says, growing more confused.

"No, we're not." Jamie tells him.

"Our father taught us how to be hunters." Sam adds. Dean and Jamie both nod.

Henry laughs. "You're not. Are you? Hunters?" Dean, Sam, and Jamie don't react. "Well, hunters are... Hunters are apes. You're supposed to – you're legacies."

"Legacies of what?" Dean asks.

The Impala is parked on the street. The businesses around include an antiques store and a shop called "nu" offering salads and pita bread. Henry gets out of the back seat with Jamie and Mark. Sam and Dean get out of the front seats and they walk down the street. Henry stops outside number 242. "What's going on here?" The sign above the door reads "Astro Comics." There is a symbol is still visible carved into the door, but it is partly worn away. Henry touches it. "No."

The siblings stand behind him, watching. "All right, well, this was enlightening." Dean claps his hands once. "Let's hit the road, huh?"

Sam puts out his arm to stop his brother. "Give him a minute, Dean."

Dean rolls his eyes. "We just spent four hours driving, okay? All he did was stare out the window and request Pat Boone on the radio. He had his time."

Jamie shakes her head. "Just hold on, Dean, okay?" Mark looks at Henry and points him out to Jamie. She rubs her son's back, still shaking her head.

"It's just a facade, a way to rook our enemies into believing we are housed elsewhere." Henry says, turning back to the siblings.

Dean narrows his eyes. "Okay, enough with the decoder talk. How about you tell us what this whole "Men of Letters" business is, or you're on your own."

Henry waves him off. "It's none of your concern."

Jamie scoffs. "Oh that's rich, especially coming from you."

Dean steps forward. "Why, because we're hunters? What do you have against us?"

"Aside from the unthinking, unwashed, shoot-first-and-don't-bother-to-ask-questions-later part, not much, really." Henry says annoyed.

"Well he's got you down, Dean." Jamie mutters with a slight smirk. Dean gives her a look.

Sam steps forward. "You know what? Wait a second. We're also John's children."

Henry sighs. "You're more than that, actually. My father and his father before him were both Men of Letters, as John and you three should have been."

Dean and Sam wait for him to say more. Jamie rolls her eyes and sighs. "Men of Letters were preceptors, beholders, chroniclers of all that which man does not understand. Right?" Henry looks surprised.

"You're not just any psychic or any prophet are you?" He asks her.

Dean and Sam look at her. She pauses and then turns to him. "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert." The title garnishes a bad taste in her mouth after all these years.

Henry, however, stares at her in shock. "The foretold one?"

She nods. "Yes. I'm beginning to understand that your legacy might not be so dead afterall." Dean and Sam clear their throats. "Anyway, um the Men of Letters, they would share their findings with hunters."

Henry nods. "But not just any hunters, only a few trusted hunters – the very elite. They do the rest."

"So you're like Yodas to our Jedis." Dean says with a smirk. Henry looks uncomprehending. "Never mind. You'll get there."

Sam walks forward. "Okay, but if you guys were such a big deal, then why haven't we – or anyone besides Jamie – ever heard of you?"

"Abaddon." He mutters.

"Abaddon must have wiped them all out." Jamie says to Dean and Sam. Henry opens the door and walks inside. The siblings follow.

"Henry. Why? Why'd she do it?" Sam asks, catching up to him.

Henry holds up the small wooden box carved with the symbol. "I think for this."

Sam stares at the box. "Okay, what's that?"

"I wish I knew." He puts the box back into his pocket. "Abaddon attacked us the night of my final initiation. All secrets were to be revealed then." Sam looks at Jamie. Jamie shakes her head and shrugs.

Dean walks forward. "Let me get this straight. You traveled through time to protect something that does you don't know what from a demon that you know nothing about?" Henry looks at Dean, then walks down the hallway further into the store. Dean spreads his hands. "Good."

Henry enters a room and stops some distance from the store counter, behind which is a young woman in black who is wearing a studded leather collar. Dean, Jamie, and Sam come up behind him. "Hand me your... walkie-talkie." He says to Sam.

Sam gets his cellphone out. "You mean my phone?"

"Even better." He holds Sam's phone up to his mouth. "Operator, I need Delta 457."

"Wow." Jamie mutters.

Dean looks unimpressed. "Who are you not calling?"

"Our emergency number." Henry tells him, deadpan.

"Yeah. Not anymore." Dean hands the phone back to Sam.

"They can't all be gone. There must be another elder out there who can help us figure out how to stop Abaddon and what to do with the box."

Dean speaks to the young woman behind the counter. "Hey, uh, hi. Can we hijack your computer for a hot second?"

Henry laughs. "Like you could fit a computer in this room."

Jamie rolls her eyes.

"Sure." The young woman steps away.

"Thanks." Dean turns the laptop on the counter around. "Sam."

Sam steps up to the counter. "Yep. All right, um... give me a name – anybody who, uh, might have been there that night – one of those elders."

"Um... Ackers, David. Larry Ganem." Sam enters the names into a search engine. "Um, Ted –"

"Okay, here it is. Um, August 12, 1958." Dean and the woman check each other out. Jamie slaps Dean's chest. "A tragic fire at a gentlemen's club. Uh, 242 Gaines Street." Sam reads.

"This is 242 Gaines Street. But that was no fire." The laptop shows a newspaper article from August 12, 1958 titled "Tragic Fire at Gentlemen's Club, 4 Dead."

Jamie moves in beside Sam and reads. "Larry Ganem, David Ackers, Ted Bowen, and Albert Magnus – all deceased. Albert Magnus?" She looks back at Henry.

"Albert Magnus." He echos.

"Jamie, you've heard of him?" Dean asks.

"The name is familiar." She tells him.

Dean looks at Henry. "He a friend of yours?"

"Even better." Henry turns around.

The Impala drives along a road past a cemetery.

Henry, Jamie, Sam and Dean walk in the cemetery. Sam and Dean hold flashlights. Jamie holds Mark. Henry leads the way.

"Mama. Eat." Mark complains.

"Did you leave your bottle in the car?" Jamie asks softly.

"Mama." He whines. Jamie turns around and glances over her shoulder at Henry. Dean and Sam distract him with the tombstones. Mark makes his bottle appear when Henry's back is turned.

"These were my friends, my mentors, our last defense against the Abaddons of the world." Henry says sadly.

Dean shines his flashlight on a headstone. "Here's your buddy Albert Magnus."

"Albertus Magnus. He was hardly a buddy."

Jamie walks up to him. "He was the greatest alchemist of the middle ages."

Sam raises an eyebrow, looking towards Jamie. "Okay, so why is he buried here?"

"He's not." Henry tells him. "His was the alias we'd use when going incognito. I believe someone planted his name in that article... so that if a Man of Letters came looking for answers, he'd know something was amiss."

Sam nods. "So someone wanted you to come to this grave."

"The question is why."

Dean shines his flashlight on the unicursal hexagram symbol, which is carved into the headstone. "What is this?" Jamie looks down and then holds up her wrist, the one she's wearing her charm bracelet on. One of the charms is same symbol. "This the Aquarian Star. It represents power and magic."

Henry nods. "It's our crest. They say it stood at the gates of Atlantis itself."

Sam shines his flashlight around. "Hmm. It's on all the tombstones except for this one – uh, Larry Ganem." He shines his flashlight on a headstone that reads:

LARRY GANEM  
March 23rd 1926  
August 12th 1958

Henry crouches down in front of the headstone, which has a different symbol carved into it. "The Haitian symbol for speaking to the dead. This is the message." He glances over his shoulder. "You boys ever exhume a body?"

Dean and Sam look at each other.

Sam and Dean are shoveling in a grave, the coffin fully exposed. Henry crouches nearby. Jamie is holding Mark whose drinking from his bottle. She smooths his hair back and kisses him. Henry looks over at them.

"Tell me how we got stuck doing this?" Dean mutters to Sam. They lift the coffin out of the grave and Henry pulls back the lid. A skeleton wearing a suit lies in the coffin. "Hey, was, uh, Larry a World War I vet?"

"No." Henry answers.

"Well, then, who's the stiff?" Dean asks.

"No idea."

Sam looks at a metal dog tag on the skeleton's clothes. "Captain Thomas J. Carey III. That mean anything to you?"

Henry shakes his head.

Dean shrugs. "Well, somebody wanted you to see this, so maybe that somebody is Larry."

Sam looks at Dean. "So, what, maybe he, uh, survives the attack and hides out with this guy's identity?"

Jamie shrugs. "It's what any of us would do. And it's our only lead." She points out.

"Okay. What are we waiting for, then?" Henry walks off. "Cover this up. Let's be on our way."

Sam and Dean look at each other. Jamie sighs. "Get out, I'll do it. Dean, take Mark."

Sam gets out of the hole. Dean puts the lid on the coffin and gets out. He takes Mark. "Daddy." Mark snuggles into Dean's chest. Jamie raises her hands and causes the dirt to levitate. She drops it down into the hole, covering it up.

"I love you." Dean tells her.

Jamie scoffs. "Oh come on, if you let me use my powers for everything you'd never have any fun."

Inside the motel Jamie is putting Mark to bed in the next room. Sam sits at a table reading John's journal. Henry is on the couch, whistling "As Time Goes By." Dean is using the laptop at the table next to Sam. He looks up. "What is that? I know that tune."

Henry looks up. "As Time Goes By." I hope so. It's from "Casablanca."

Sam nods. "Right. Dad used to whistle it from time to time."

Henry smiles. "Your father saw "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" at the drive-in one night. It scared the beeswax out of him. So I got him this little music box that played that song to help him sleep at night. It worked like a charm."

Jamie walks in and stands against the doorway. "Wow, it's hard to believe Dad was ever scared of anything."

"Hey, uh, according to county records, Tom Carey lives in Lebanon, Kansas, and is a very happy 127-year-old." Dean closes the laptop. "I say we get some shut-eye, head over first thing in the morning."

Sam looks up from the journal. "Wait, wait, wait. Listen to this. According to Dad's journal, he once tortured a demon that said he made his bones working for Abaddon, who, it turns out, is-"

Jamie cuts him off. "A Knight of Hell."

Sam nods. "Yeah."

Dean groans. "What does that even mean?"

Jamie walks towards them. "Knights of Hell are hand-picked by Lucifer himself. They are of the first-fallen, first-born demons."

Sam twists to look at her. "So very pure, very strong."

Jamie nods. "Stronger even then Lilith."

Henry stands up. "Legend has it that Archangels had killed all of them, which, as we have witnessed, is not the case."

Dean shrugs. "Unless she's the last of her kind."

Jamie scoffs. "Where's Gabriel when you need him?"

Henry gestures to the journal. "You say that belonged to your father?"

Sam nods. "Yeah."

"May I?"

Sam slides the journal across the table towards Henry.

"It's a hunter's journal. Dad passed this on to us. We in turn all keep one." Jamie explains.

" I assume Men of Letters – you use journals, too?" Sam asks.

Henry nods. "I intended to. I sent away for one the day before my initiation." He lifts a photograph tucked into the inside cover of the journal to reveal the initials "HW" stamped in the leather. "As a matter of fact, judging by my initials here, this one, I believe."

Jamie brushes the letters. "I've never noticed that before."

"That was yours?" Dean asks.

"It must have arrived after... I'm beginning to gather I don't make it back from this time, do I?" He looks up at the siblings.

Sam sighs. "We don't know for sure. All we do know is that Dad never saw you again."

"What did he think happened to me?"

"He thought you ran out on him." Dean tells him.

Henry looks down. "John was a legacy. I was supposed to teach him the ways of the Letters."

Jamie goes over and leans against Dean's chair. "Well, he learned things a little differently."

"How?"

Dean wraps his arm around Jamie. "The hard way. Surviving a lonely childhood, a stinking war... only to get married and have his wife taken by a demon... and later killed by one himself. That man got a bum rap around every turn. But you know what? He kept going. And in the end, he did a hell of a lot more good than he did bad."

Henry sighs. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been there for him."

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, it's a little late for that now, don't you think?" He gets up and walks towards the door.

"It's the price we pay for upholding great responsibility. We know that."

Dean angrily turns back to him. "Your responsibility was to your family, not some glorified book club!"

"I was a legacy. I had no choice."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"Dean!"

Dean walks out the door and closes it behind him. Jamie sighs, getting up and rubbing her belly. She walks into the bedroom. Sam and Henry sit at the table for a few moments, then Sam gets up and there's the sound of a door opening. "Hey." Sam says. He closes the bedroom door behind him. Jamie laying in bed with Mark.

"Hey."

Sam sits down on the other bed. "I wish I could sleep like that." He gestures to Mark.

"I think we all wish we could sleep like that." She pauses for a moment. "I miss Dad. I miss him so much. If I hadn't been so angry with him, maybe…"

Sam sighs. "Maybe Dad, and AJ, and Bobby would all be alive? Cas wouldn't be crazy."

Jamie closes her eyes in frustration. "Oh my god, Cas."

Sam rubs her shoulder. "We'll figure out a way to fix him. Well, Dean will figure out a way to fix him."

She scoffs. "Yeah, whose gonna fix Dean?"

Sam chuckles. Dean walks in. Sam looks over at him. "Hey."

"Hey." He walks over and hugs Jamie, bending over to kiss her belly. "You go to sleep." Jamie smirks and closes her eyes. Dean lays down on the other side of the bed. He kisses Mark and tucks him in.

Sam watches with a smile. "You're a good father, you know."

Dean turns over to look at him. "Yeah?"

He nods. "Yeah. Mark and Emmy are going to grow up to be amazing hunters."

Dean looks down at Mark. "I would give anything for them not too."

Sam eases himself unto the bed. "Well I don't think you'll have to worry about Mark. Emmy is already a psychic."

Dean turns back to him. "That doesn't mean anything."

Sam chuckles. "Dean, they're your kids. You're supposed to worry about them. You're supposed to want to protect them. Jamie is never gonna leave the life, not really, and I somehow doubt you will either, so Mark and Emmy are going to grow up learning how to be hunters. If they're anything like the two of you I doubt you'll have much choice. You need to accept that."

Henry looks through John's journal. When he finally closes it, Dean and Sam, wearing jeans and T-shirts, are asleep on top of the covers of the beds. Jamie, also in jeans and a tank top is asleep on the other side of Dean, with Mark in between them, tucked under the blanket.

The next morning Dean, and Jamie are asleep. Sam is holding Mark on his hip and a notepad in his other hand. He hits Dean on the shoulder with a notepad. "Hey. Wake up!"

Dean wakes up startled. "What? What?!"

Jamie opens her eyes and looks up. "What is it, Sam?"

"Henry – he's gone."

Dean sits up. "Where is he?"

"Well, no idea. He just left a note saying he was gonna fix everything." He shows Dean.

"Or Screw it all up." Jamie mutters.

"All right." Dean gets up.

A little while later Dean enters the room from outside. Sam is sitting at the table. Jamie is feeding Mark. "Now we know what he meant by "fix everything."

Sam looks over at him. "What?"

"He broke in to the trunk, stole an angel feather. I'm guessing he's gonna whip up another one of those blood spells and Marty McFly himself back to the 1950s."

"To do what? Stop Abaddon before she strikes?" Sam asks.

Jamie looks at Dean. "Or grab Dad and haul ass."

Dean nods. "Look, point is he's doing it."

Sam shrugs. "How? He still needs two ingredients for the spell. Unless... "

Jamie looks at Sam. "Unless there's some place nearby that sells real hoodoo. A hunter's shop. "

Sam opens the laptop.

"I'll call Garth." Dean takes out his phone. Sam clicks on an item on a police scanner application on the laptop.

"_All units, possible homicide at Astro Comics. Location..."_

"Hey."

Jamie and Dean turn to Sam. "Hmm?"

"It just hit the wires – one dead at Astro Comics."

Dean and Jamie both look over Sam's shoulder. "Abaddon?"

"Yeah, has to be."

Dean nods. "Okay, so she's close. Jamie and I'll go find Henry. You find Larry. Figure out how to kill this chick." Dean leaves the room. Jamie puts Mark's jacket on and grabs her own, following him.

Dean enters the shop. Jamie walks in behind him with Mark.

"Poo-goh. Kah-nee-lah..." Henry is speaking the words of the spell in front of a door on which is drawn the same symbol he used in 1958. The symbol is glowing bright gold.

Dean rushes forward. "Henry, wait! Jamie break the connection."

Henry holds his hand up. "Wait, This is a risk I have to take."

"And what if you die, huh? Who said you'll even survive a jump?"

Henry turns to face Dean. Jamie flicks her wrist. The symbol stops glowing. "You cannot begin to understand how I felt after reading John's journal."

Dean shakes his head. "Oh, I think we can. See, I've read that thing more times than you can imagine, and it hurts every time."

Jamie nods. "I know more about my father from that journal then I do from the man himself."

Henry stares at her. "I read the letter he wrote to you, Jamie. All that pain, giving up his only daughter to prevent the fate that befell her mother, feeling as though he had no other choice."

Jamie closes her eyes. "It hurts. It does."

"Maybe so, but you didn't let him down! I did! Just like you said!"

"Well, I was wrong." Dean tells him.

"No! No, you were right. And I'm going to go back and give him the life he deserves, not the one he was forced to live."

Jamie steps forward. "And what if it's not meant to be?"

"Then it will be!" he counters.

Dean crosses his arms. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because it's the right thing to do! I can save him and stop Abaddon!"

"How?"

"By going back an hour before she attacks and making preparations."

Jamie shakes her head. "No." Henry looks at her. "If you do that and you change the past, me, Dean, and Sam might cease to exist!"

"I'm aware that time is a delicate mistress, but I'm willing to bet on this being for the best."

Dean steps forward. "Listen, I understand that this is not your idea of a happy ending, okay, and that – that you're disappointed that me, Jamie, and Sam are mouth-breathing hunters. But you know what? We stopped the Apocalypse."

"If this works the way I planned, there will never be an Apocalypse to stop."

"You can't possibly-" Jamie cuts herself off, her eyes glazing over. "D-Dean!" She grabs for her brother.

Dean grabs unto her. "What is it? What's wrong?" He looks at her.

"Sammy." Mark says sadly. Jamie grips Dean's shoulder. Dean's phone rings. He looks at Jamie and then takes it out.

"Sammy?" He asks.

"Abaddon." Jamie mutters.

"No. Much sexier. Try again."

"Abaddon." Dean repeats. Jamie grips his shoulder tighter.

"Good boy. Now listen up – I want to make a good, old-fashioned horse trade. Henry and the key for your brother. Or he dies." Dean closes his eyes. "Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"On the road to Larry's, there's a processing plant. Don't keep me waiting."

Dean hangs up. He looks at Jamie. She blinks and straightens up. "That bitch."

"Sammy." Mark fusses.

"It's okay, son." Dean kisses Mark's forehead, ruffling his hair. He looks at Jamie. Jamie stares back at him.

"Abaddon has Sam?" Henry asks.

Dean nods looking at him. "She wants to trade you and the key for Sam's life."

"If I could just go back, stop this all from happening."

Dean steps forward. "And what if you can't? I can't take that risk – not with Sammy on the hook now."

"I can't abandon my son, Dean! Not again! I need to do this. I'm sorry." He turns back to the sigil on the door. "Kah-nee-lah... Poo-goh." The sigil glows gold again. "Kah-nee-lah... Poo-goh."

"Well, I'm sorry, too." Jamie flicks her wrist and the sigil stops glowing. Dean wraps his arms around Henry from behind.

Dean is driving. Jamie and Mark are asleep in the backseat. Henry, in the passenger seat, wakes.

"Sorry about that." Dean tells him.

Henry rubs his neck. "No, you're not. You've wanted to do that since we met."

Dean glances at him and then at the road. "Henry, you need to understand something. When my dad died, I couldn't save him... no matter how bad I wanted to. I never want that to happen to Sam and Jamie... ever. They're the only family I got. Sam's my brother. If there's a chance that I can save him, I'm gonna do it."

The Impala is parked outside the plant.

Dean, Jamie, and Henry walk through the plant. Henry's hands are behind his back and Dean holds his arm. Jamie follows holding Mark. They enter a large room.

"Don't do it, Dean." Henry says desperately.

Dean doesn't look at him. "Too late for that now."

Abbadon and Sam are waiting in the room.

"That's the problem with you hunters. You're all short-sighted." Henry mutters.

"Yeah, at least we're not extinct." Jamie shoots back. They stop walking.

"Abaddon! I'll send Henry here over with the box. You do the same with Sam. No tricks." Dean puts the box into Henry's jacket pocket.

"My only interest is Henry and the key. You're free to go."

Dean gives Henry a shove. Henry doesn't move and Dean takes out his gun. "You can do this standing, or you can do it crawling. Your call."

SAM, whose hands are bound in front of him, starts walking towards Dean and Jamie. Henry starts walking towards Abaddon. Sam pauses when he and Henry meet in the middle. "Henry, I'm sorry."

"Save it."

Sam keeps walking. Dean takes out a knife to cut the rope binding Sam's hands. "Don't do this, guys. This is a bad idea." Sam tells his siblings.

"Shut your mouth." Dean says firmly. "Let's go." He cuts the rope. Henry reaches Abaddon.

Jamie pushes Sam's back. "Come on." The siblings try to leave the room, but at a motion from Abaddon, the door closes. Jamie rolls her eyes. "Somehow I figured that would happen." She waves her hand but the door barely moves.

Dean turns around. "We had a deal!" He yells.

Abaddon laughs. "Surprise. I lied." She plunges a hand into Henry's abdomen.

"Henry!" Sam starts to run towards Henry, but Dean puts out a hand to stop him.

"Wait. Wait." Dean tells him.

Abaddon withdraws her hand and Henry gasps. His mouth is full of blood. He is holding a gun behind his back and that his handcuffs weren't fastened. "You're not the only one." Henry shoots Abaddon under the chin. Her skull glows with bright light. Jamie grabs Sam's hand and sends him a vision.

They're back in the Impala. Dean is talking to Henry. "I'm gonna do it." He tells him.

"So, what are you thinking?" Henry asks.

Jamie leans forward. "Can you slow Abaddon down? Because if you can, we'll do the rest."

"Whoo! What a blast. Now, give me the box." Abaddon demands. She reaches into Henry's jacket pocket and takes out a pack of cards. She throws it to the ground. "Where is it?!" She screams. There are loud crashing noises and the lights go off and on with flying sparks. "Okay. We can do this the hard way." She grabs Henry's chin and attempts to breathe black smoke into his mouth, but it seems to meet with an invisible shield. She shoves Henry and he falls to the ground. Sam runs to him and supports him. Dean and Jamie back away. Abaddon tries to move, but seems to be held in place. She screams again and sparks fly from the lights. "Why am I stuck?!"

Jamie walks forward and holds her hand out in the demon's direction. In the Impala Henry carves a devil's trap into the head of a bullet. He hands it to Dean. "A devil's trap carved into the bullet."

"Why didn't we ever think of that?" Jamie asks.

Dean puts the bullet into a gun and hands the gun to Henry. "You're gonna have to get close."

Jamie nods. "And "close" means it could get ugly."

Henry takes the gun. "I know. But you do that for blood."

Jamie steps back and kneels down beside Henry. Henry shakes slightly as he leans against Sam and looks up at Abaddon. "You still didn't kill me." She hisses.

"No, but you'll wish we did." Dean comes up behind her and cuts off her head with a machete. "The demon trap in your noggin is gonna keep you from smoking out. We're gonna cut you into little steaks and bury each strip under cement. You might not be dead, but you'll wish you were."

"We did it." Henry breathes.

Dean crouches down in front of him. "No, _you_ did it. For a bookworm, that wasn't bad, Henry."

Sam looks up. "Jamie, bring Mark closer maybe he can heal him."

Jamie looks down at Mark, and sets him on his feet. "Hey honey. You have to touch him, Mark." She tells him, smoothing back his hair. "Like you did for Daddy that one time, remember?"

Henry puts his arm up. "No. It's fatal. It will take a lot of energy to heal. More than a half-angel child could muster so quickly."

Jamie looks up surprised. "You know?" Henry smiles. Jamie takes Mark back into her arms.

Henry looks around at the siblings. "I'm sorry I judged you three so harshly for being hunters. I should have known better."

"About?" Sam asks.

"You're also Winchesters. As long as we're alive, there's always hope." Dean, Jamie, and Sam look at each other. "I didn't know my son as a man, but having met you three..." Henry takes Dean's hand with his right hand and holds out his left hand to Sam. He looks at Jamie. Jamie leans in and holds his arm. "…I know I would have been proud of him."

"Love you, grampa." Mark speaks up. Henry smiles and then dies. Sam, Jamie, and Dean look at each other, then Sam looks down at the box, which Henry put into his hand. Sam looks back up at Dean, who looks down towards Jamie. Jamie lets go of Henry and puts her hand on her stomach. Mark hugs his mother and then walks over to Dean. Dean hugs him.

Mark is standing between Jamie and Dean, who are holding his hands, in the cemetery where the other Men of Letters are buried. Sam hammers a cross grave marker into the ground, then stands next to Dean in front of the grave. "H. Winchester" is carved into the cross.

"I get it now." Sam mutters.

"Hmm?" Dean glances at him.

"What Cupid said about heaven busting ass to get Mom and Dad together."

Jamie smirks. "The Winchesters and the Campbells – the brains and the brawn. Explains why I was born a psychic, all the knowledge that the Men of Letters possess, I can access it." She looks at Dean and Sam.

Sam nods. "Yeah your powers are starting to get scary."

Jamie rolls her eyes. "Oh please, it took me forever to get that door open."

Dean smiles. "Well, I'm glad you two see it. All I see in our family tree is a whole lot of dead." He takes a photograph out of his pocket. "Hey, I, uh... found this in Henry's wallet." He hands the photo to Sam. It is the picture of Henry holding a baseball and John holding a bat that Henry was looking at in the diner.

"Dad looks happy." He hands the photo back to Dean.

"Kind of makes you wish he knew the truth, huh? I mean, all those years thinking his old man ditched when the poor son of a bitch really came here and saved our bacon. Freaking time-travel, man."

Jamie sighs. "You think it would have made a difference?"

Dean looks at her. "What?"

"Dad."

"You mean if he'd had his own father around?" Sam asks.

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"Hmm."

Dean looks at the twins. "What, in how he raised us? He did the best he could." Dean kneels down and picks up Mark.

Jamie nods. "I know that. I – I do."

"They all did." Sam takes the box out of his pocket. Dean looks at it.

"What are the chances that place is still standing?"

Sam shrugs. "A chance we've got to take, I guess. I mean, we are legacies, right?"


	54. St Patrick's Day Special

Thunder and lightning split the sky outside the window, painted with an angel sigil, of Rufus's cabin. Jamie shudders a little, casting a sideways glance to the window and then down to her son as she finishes tucking him into bed. "Mama?" Mark asked softly, his wide blue eyes staring up at her intensely. "What?" Jamie smiles at her overly observant three year old, and lays a kiss on his brow.

"Nothing, baby. Go to sleep." She tells him, running her fingers over the mat of dark hair on his head.

"Want Daddy." He whines. It's a common complaint. One that's grown stronger in the last few months, when Dean's weekly visits have grown shorter. Jamie knows her brothers are busy with the trials, trying to close the gates of hell for all eternity. But Mark doesn't know that. He knows his daddy is away, fighting to keep him, his mommy, and his unborn baby sister safe, but he doesn't understand why. He wants his father more than anything else. Chuckling softly, Jamie takes her cellphone out of the pocket of her sweats and dials a number.

"Jamie?" Dean's voice crackles on the other end.

"Hey Dean. Your son wants to talk to you." She tells him. She holds the phone out to their boy, who takes it gleefully and puts it to his ear.

"Hey Mark. How are you, buddy?" Dean's voice is soft and low and Jamie smiles sadly. There is not a day that goes by that she doesn't wish for things to be different. AJ's ring grows heavy in these moments, though she's not entirely sure he wouldn't have also been an absent father. They would have lived a hunter's life, even if Mark had been born his son, and probably even moreso. Sometimes she curses Cas for being what he is, and herself for being with him, but she never goes so far as to regret it. Without their relationship, short and complicated as it was, Mark would have never been born, and she thanks fate every day for her strong boy. She thanks fate for her brother, who claims her son as his own and tries to be the father he deserves, but cannot have.

"Miss you, Daddy." Mark babbles into the phone. "Come here."

Dean laughs quietly on the other end. "I'll try to come see you and Mommy soon, okay?"

"To-mar-oh?" He asks. Jamie's heart falls at the boy's request, and she senses Dean's does the same. She knows he hates being away from Mark. She doesn't believe in a normal life, but hopefully, maybe, when Emmy is born and these trials are done they will all be together.

"Maybe." Dean says cautiously. He hates giving Mark false hope, but it's the best he can do. "I love you, Mark."

"Love you, Daddy." Mark says back.

"Good night, son." Jamie smiles, planting another kiss on her son's head as she takes the phone back. Mark snuggles against his teddy bear and closes his eyes. Jamie puts the phone back to her ear, holding it there as she quickly checks the devil's trap and anti-possession charms. "Hey Jamie." Dean says. "How are you doing?"

"Your daughter is going to kick her way out of me." She tells him as she backs out of the room and closes the door. "Do you know the second trial?"

"Kevin's working on it. You know, I'm really not that far from you guys. If I leave now, I'll make it in time for breakfast."

"Dean…don't make promises you can't keep. You sound exhausted, and if you drive all night, you're just gonna get here and pass out."

"I've gotta try, Jamie. That boy is growing up without his father, and I can't take it much longer."

"Close the gates of hell and you won't have to. We can be a family again."

"I hope you're right."

"Sam will be fine."

"I'm not betting against you. Alright, I promise I will find a way to come see you guys soon. Call me if you go into labor."

"Yeah. Bye Dean. I love you."

"You too." The line went dead and Jamie sighed, walking back into the bedroom.

She's awakened early the next morning by her daughter's impatient movements. She shifts uncomfortably in the bed as she rises up, stopping suddenly when a twisting pain in her stomach hit. The pain is oddly familiar and she sighs deeply, dropping back down unto the bed. She isn't ready for her daughter to be born. Even as she counts the weeks in her head and realizes it's close to time she can't stop the swell of dread that welds up in her being.

"Mommy?" The contractions come and go over over the next few hours, and she doesn't have the strength to get out of bed. Mark walks over to his mother, momentarily worried to see her still in bed.

"Hey buddy." Jamie says softly, opening her eyes to look at her boy. She hasn't called Dean yet. But the contractions come on too fast and too close together. Something isn't right, and she can feel it. Mark climbs into the bed beside her, curling himself up around his mother. He can sense it too, and that worries Jamie even more. After a moment she hits Dean's number and waits for him to pick up. Instead the voicemail answers. Jamie curses to herself. "Dean…um…you should probably get up here. I um…just…just come as soon as you can." She hangs up and sighs, looking down at her son, who stares up at her with tearful blue eyes. She does her best to calm him, even as the pain becomes more intense.

She wants Bobby. She wants him, or her father. Someone who has some idea of what to do. It's been hours and Dean has not called back. Neither he nor Sam have answered their phones. She tried getting up, tried moving around, tried relaxing. Nothing works and the pain grows steadily more unbearable. Out of options she dials the only other number she has left. "Garth?" She winces. "Hey."

"Jamie, hey!" Garth says excitedly on the other end. "How are you?"

"Garth um…I could really use your help." She tells him.

"Sure, what's wrong?"

"Um…I'm in labor and…I think I'm dying." She says as calmly as she can. Garth drops the phone and Jamie curses. "Don't pass out on me, Garth. Just get your ass up here!" She hangs up quickly, dropping to her knees as the pain comes again. When she looks up she sees Mark hovering in the corner, tears in his eyes.

Garth doesn't delay. Within the span of an hour he's knocking on the door, and looks relived when she answers. "Oh good, you weren't serious about the dying part."

"Oh, I'm serious about the dying part." She tells him, closing the door behind him. He's holding a bag and several large books. "Should I ask?"

"Oh, this is everything I have on field medicine and pregnancy." He tells her. "So, uh…bedroom?"

Jamie stares at for full minute and then backs up. "Woah…uh…yeah, not how this going to work. I may be dying, but you are not," She makes a gesture with her hands. "No. You're gonna find Dean for me."

"Oh." Garth said, a little disappointed.

"Now!"

Jamie groaned in pain, curling up in a fetal position on her bed. Garth had finally insisted that she at least lay down for awhile. Her water still hadn't broken, but the contractions remained close together and ever-painful. Now a fever had taken root, causing the hunter to slip slowly into delirium. She called out mostly for John and Mary and Dean. Occasionally she begged for Sam and Bobby. Twice she called on AJ, sobbing for her long dead lover. Then there was one name she began to call for. Michael.

Garth was marginally surprised that she called out to Michael to deliver her from the pain. He never expected her to pray to the archangel, knowing full well the history between him and the Winchesters. But he had never heard the full story between Jamie and Michael, their history, how Michael had protected her for years. Somewhere in her fevered babble, Garth realized Jamie didn't share the same view of Michael that Dean and Sam held. She still clung to the belief that there was good in Michael. She loved him, she idolized him, she believed in him. It was Lucifer who tormented and tortured Sam and Adam in hell, not Michael. Michael was the one who saved them in the end. He distracted Lucifer long enough for Castiel to raise Sam from perdition, and Adam. He had attached Adam's soul to Cas, and that soul had become Mark's. Her baby was Michael's final act as her protector.

Despite the pain and the delusions, she never once cried out for Castiel. Not once did his name pass her lips. Garth wasn't sure what to think about that. He did what he could to try and bring her fever down, but it refused to break. He stared at the phone, willing it to ring, willing for Dean to be on his way. Finally, there was a rough knock on the door. Garth pulled it open to reveal both brothers, looking worn and haggard. Dean shoved right past him, heading into Jamie's room. Sam hung back, questioning the location of his nephew.

"Jamie?" Dean entered the room and got down on his knees beside her. "Hey. I'm here. Open your eyes." He laid a cool hand on her forehead and cringed at the warmth. "God you're burning up. Sam! Get in here." He called.

Sam handed his crying nephew to Garth and entered the room, slamming the door shut behind him. "God, she looks terrible." He said, frowning deeply.

"Yeah, we gotta get the kid out of her." He rolled his sister unto her back and felt her stomach.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"Dad showed me some stuff, when Jamie was having Mark." He said to his brother, taking off his jacket and stripping down to his t-shirt. He pulled off the light blanket.

Sam stared at the wall. "Dad? What?"

"Long story. You were unconscious." He replaced the light blanket over his sister. "Well she's uh what do they call it?"

"Dilating?" Sam offered.

Dean made a face. "Yeah. She's doing that, at least. And the baby isn't breach. I don't know what's going on."

"You wanna jump to the worst conclusion?" Sam asked softly.

"Demon doin it to her? Nah, I don't think it's that."

Jamie cried out just then, opening her eyes briefly before squeezing them closed in pain. "It's GBS." She said hoarsely. Dean and Sam quickly moved to her side. Dean held her shoulders while Sam sat at her side. "It's just a stupid human infection."

"I gotcha, Jamie. Are you alright now?" Dean's eyes were full of worry.

"It's psychic mojo." She told him, her eyes still closed. "I'm pushing it."

"What do you need us to do?" Sam asked, grabbing her hands. He looked at Dean, frowning deeply.

"Get your hands on penicillin, hook up an IV. Should break the fever. Uh…" She passed out in Dean's arms. Dean's worried eyes darted from his sister to his brother. Sam nodded, bolting for the door.

Dean held Jamie against him, stroking her strawberry blonde hair back from her face as he waited on Sam's return. He's been calling for Cas, but the angel won't answer him. He isn't afraid of much, not anymore, not after everything. He's seen things no one should have to see, done things no one should have to do, been where no one should have to go. But he's still afraid of losing his brother and sister. He tries not to think about the consequences if Jamie dies. It means raising Mark and Emmy alone, raising them in the same life Dean always had, because he knows he'll always be an absent father, he doesn't have a choice. "God Bobby, I wish you were here right now." He whispers. Bobby would know what to do. Bobby always knew what to do.

"Dean?" He closes his eyes in silent thanks when he hears Sam's voice. "Hey." He pops his head into the room, a discrete paper bag in his hand. "I got it. She any better?"

"No." He answers stoically, easy out of the way so Sam can work. He watches with interest as his brother sets the IV up in record time, and heaves a small sigh when the clear fluid hits his sister's blood stream. "How long do you think it will take?"

"I don't know, an hour maybe." Sam guesses. He looks gravely at Dean. "What do you think? I mean, we should probably be realistic, right?"

"She aint gonna die, Sam. She's too damn stubborn. Besides, I highly doubt Heaven wants her, and Hell is afraid of her. She'll be fine." He's lying and Sam knows it, but he accepts Dean's misplaced optimism.

They wait. They pace. They wait. Mark cries uncontrollably and Dean leaves the spot he's picked to keep vigil for a few long moments to calm his son. Sam is always impressed when he watches Dean with his nephew. Like Dean and Jamie he no longer sees the half-angel as Castiel's son. Too many nights he's watched Dean drink himself close to tears after talking to Jamie and discovering yet another milestone that he's missed. It makes perfect sense to him that it was Dean who stepped in without a second thought. From the moment Jamie found out she was pregnant Dean had declared himself Mark's father. It had been odd, even bordering on wrong to him at first that his brother would call his sister's son his own, but he understood now. Dean had raised him and his twin in the absent shadow of their own father. Fatherhood was a second nature to him, though he'd never admit it. And he and Jamie shared a bond Sam would not ever be able to understand. They were almost too much alike, as though they should have been the twins, both fiercely loyal, protective, and an innate, firm sense of right and wrong. And Jamie, like Dean, accepts the life for what it is, and for that reason Dean is the most suitable father for her son. Because though he, like Sam, does not want to raise a child in the life, he can accept its necessity. And for Jamie the life is a necessity she cannot escape, not with psychic powers and a half angel son, not until the gates of hell are closed forever.

And then there was Cas. He's convinced the only people who don't know that Dean loves Cas is Dean and Cas. When Cas couldn't have Dean he settled on Jamie because Jamie was the female version of Dean in almost every way, her eyes were just a different color. And when Dean couldn't have Cas he chose to raise Cas's son instead. Mark is closest damn thing either of them will ever get to having a child of their own, that's a part of both of them, and he's pretty damn close. He has Castiel's eyes and Dean's features. He's built like Dean, but he vocalizes like Cas. With Cas's powers and Dean's hunter abilities, Mark was the almost perfect blend of them both.

"Dean!" Sam calls out into the hallway. Dean rushes into the room after his son is soundly asleep in his crib. He expects the worst, but instead finds his sister sitting on the bed, clutching Sam's arms in a death grip. Her teeth clenched, her blonde bangs sticking to her face and a puddle of fluid on the floor under her. The contraction relents and Sam helps his sister lay back down on the mess of pillows he's hastily assembled. "She wants to push." Sam tells him. "Her water finally broke and so did the fever."

Dean goes to her side and pulls the blanket back. Sam reaches for her again, holding her arms as he blocks her view of Dean. She closes her eyes, clenching up, until Dean throws the blanket back over her lap. Both she and Sam look at Dean worriedly. "You're ready to push." He confirms. "I'll be right back." He gets up and goes to the door. "Garth, she's ready to push."

"Is she alright?" Garth asks, handing Dean the bag he brought and a blanket.

"Yeah, the antibiotic is working, her temp is back down to normal." He slams the door in Garth's face and returns to Jamie's bedside. "How do you want to do this?"

"Just…just hold me for a second." She reaches out to her big brother and he takes her into his arms for a moment. A second later she starts sobbing. Dean runs a hand through her hair and rubs her back.

"Shh…you're alright. You're gonna be fine. Emmy is going to be fine." He tells her. Sam has fear in his eyes and Dean sends him a reassuring smile. "Okay, Jamie?" She nods, pulling back from him and leans against the pillows. "Sam, hold her." He nods, moving unto the bed beside her and taking her into his arms.

Another contraction hits and she cries out, reaching to grabs fistfuls of Sam's shirt. Dean holds her knees, counting to himself rather then outloud. When the contraction ends Jamie collapses into Sam, breathing heavily. Dean rubs her legs, comfortingly. She yells out a slew of curses and begins to push again. Sam grabs unto her shoulders, giving her more resistance, while Dean pushes his shoulders against her knees. After a few minutes Dean looks up and smiles. "She's a ginger." He tells her, when she falls against Sam again. Jamie laughs through tears at that and Sam smiles. The next push has Dean helping his daughter's head out. Jamie screams about being ripped apart, but Dean assures her that their daughter just as a Sam-sized head. A minute later Dean is cleaning out the baby's nose and mouth while Jamie forces out the rest of her daughter's body and falls into Sam's waiting arms, crying.

Dean grins as the baby girl lets out a resounding whelp and opens green eyes at her father. "I've got her, Dean." Sam says softly, taking the baby while Dean gets rid of the afterbirth and throws a clean sheet over his sister. Sam cleans her off and wraps her in a soft pink blanket. "Jamie." He says softly. Jamie opens exhausted eyes and looks at her twin. Dean moves unto the bed beside her and Sam puts their daughter into Jamie's arms. "She has Dean's eyes but she looks like you." Sam tells her with a kiss.

"Mary Emilia Winchester." Jamie says, kissing her daughter's forehead as she smoothes back auburn colored hair. "Welcome to the world." Her infant daughter opens her eyes again, instantly soothed by her mother's voice. "This is your daddy." She lays her head against Dean's shoulder. Dean smiles, brushing his fingers over his daughter's cheek.

"Hi Emmy." He says softly, leaning in to kiss her. "I'm glad you're here."

"Should I get Mark?" Sam asks. Jamie nods, smiling broadly at her twin. Sam returns with the tired boy a moment later. "Mark, your mommy and daddy have someone who wants to meet you." Sam tells him.

"Emmy?" Mark asks as Sam carries him over to the bed.

"Yeah, this is your sister, Emmy." Jamie tells him.

"Emmy, this is your brother, Mark." Dean tells the baby, who flashes her eyes to Mark's face. Mark in turn giggles in excitement.

"Mama okay?" Mark asks, tearing his eyes away from the baby to his mother.

"Your Mom is just fine, son." Dean brushes back Mark's hair with a smile.

"I'll be alright, son." She says, kissing his forehead. Mark reaches out and touches her face. Instantly the residual pain and exhaustion leaves her body, along with the blood coating the bed underneath the sheet. "Mark." She says, blinking as she realizes he healed her. "Thank you." She kisses him again and he smiles, cuddling his face against Sam's chest as he gently touches his baby sister's hand.

Dean leans in closer to Jamie, fishing something out of his pocket. "I found this, a long time ago, back in Dad's lockup." He puts it into her hand and she gasps quietly. Sam smiles, hugging Mark as he looks at Dean.

"Oh my god." She leans her head against Dean's shoulder, tears already coming. "I thought this was lost forever." She sobs through the tears. In her hand is a silver locket with a pentagram engraved on it.

"Yeah, I guess Dad found it. I'm just sorry he didn't get a chance to give it to you." He kissed her head. Jamie turned the locket over to reveal the words.

"Semper et in Saecula." Sam mutters, looking at his siblings.

"Usquequo te amabo et salvabo pro. How long I will love you for." Jamie's eyes flash to Sam and Dean and then to her children.

While she looks down at their newborn daughter, Dean looks up at their son. "Always and forever." They say together.

Jamie looks at Dean and then at their daughter. "That was the last thing your grandpa ever said to me, baby girl, and your daddy and I mean it too." She leans forever and kisses her, before reaching to her son. "Come here, son." Sam brings him in closer and she holds him tightly. Dean reaches across to hold all three of them. Sam wipes tears out of his eyes, reaching over and holding Dean's hand. The brothers stare at each other for a moment. For this moment there is peace for the Winchesters. They are together. They have a family, they have love, and nothing can rob them of their happiness. For this moment.


	55. Goodbye Stranger aftershock

"You sure we should be doing this?" Sam glanced over at his older brother's solemn face, flickering pale in the weak glow of the headlights. The road ahead of them was dark and snow covered. Frozen trees stood at attention on both sides. It had been at least five hours since the Impala was greeted with a twist scrap of metal welcoming the wary hunters to Vermont, and Sam was tempted to believe they'd meet another scrawled in French and baring the Maple leaf symbol before they made it to their destination.

"Look, the compound is the safest place for them, now. At least this way, I know where they are, and I know they're safe." Dean's voice has a drag to it, even in its commanding, honest volume. Sam feels a familiar tightest in his throat and he coughs unto his sleeve. His brother turns concerned emerald eyes in his direction, but he waves off the concern even as blood drops splash unto his tan jacket. "Sammy?" The older hunter whispers quietly.

"It's okay. Just a tickle." He tries to smile, but they both frown as they turn away and spend the rest of the drive in silence.

Dean almost misses the snow covered cabin, off the beaten path, where his baby's engine rumbles in protest of the freshly laid snow. He parks on the road, not wanting to chance getting stuck in the inches of new powder that now dust what had served as a driveway. His eyes catch sight of a large snowpile near the back of the cabin, hiding the rusted out Ford pick-up that belongs to his sister, once as beloved by her as his baby is to him. But recent events and a new arrival have caused the black chrome truck to fall into disarray and be parked where it will be left to rot. A well used charcoal colored SUV, its tires still warm, the snow laying down only the lightest of blankets, is parked in the truck's usual place. "Well she's home." Dean mutters as he and Sam near the front door.

"Yeah, you think she'll try to shoot us?" Sam mutters, cocking an eyebrow to his brother.

"Is that even a question?" Dean shoots back, rapping his knuckles on the wood of the reinforced door. "Jamie!" He calls. "It's us." He really doesn't need to announce himself. His sister's psychic abilities well beyond capable of revealing something as diminutive as the identity of the pair of stragglers knocking at her door in the middle of the night.

Sure enough a faint light begins to glow in one of the few small windows of the cabin, and a few seconds later the door creaks open, revealing a short, pale woman wearing black yoga pants and a long sleeve shirt, her blonde hair pulled back from her face in a loose ponytail. She crosses her arms tightly across her chest as her blue eyes roam over both boys in turn. A light frown graces her full lips as she throws her arms around Dean, pulling him into her embrace. Dean wraps his arms around her torso, holding her safe against him. Sam stands back uncomfortably though patiently waiting his turn to acknowledge his sister. Sure enough she releases Dean and turns to pull Sam into her arms. She gasps softly as she meets his chest, arms tightly wrapped around his neck. He places his forehead against her, forcing her sapphire eyes to meet his emerald ones. They stare at each other in silence for a moment, before she finally nods to his unspoken promise, and releases him.

The three siblings enter the cabin, a cold wind blowing snow against their bodies as they get inside. Jamie gestures forcefully towards the open door, and it slams firmly shut under the influence of her telekinetic power. With her other hand she gestures across the room to the small fire place. Flame erupts from her open palm, fleeing into the dry wood littering the fireplace floor. The wood ignites and warmth fills the cabin. Dean and Sam are unaffected by the display, all too well acquainted with just how well their sister can manipulate the world around her with her powers.

Jamie turns her face to the flame, gesturing for her brothers to join her on the old, beaten couch just in front of the fire. She sits on the arm, allowing the boys to take the cushioned seats. Once they're seated she finally speaks to them. "I know about Cas."

Dean nods with a heavy sigh that comes from the depth of soul, also looking into bright flames. "I figured you'd know by now." She reaches out and grips his hand, still cold from the chill of the Impala's stirring wheel. "You and the kids need to come with us. Somewhere safer. Where angels and demons can't find you."

Jamie glances to her brother, her bright eyes holding a hint of sadness and despair, that Sam catches but says nothing. "It won't keep us safe for long." She mutters. Her eyes drift to the red painted sigils on the window beside them. "They're gonna come for him. I've seen it."

Dean eyes immediately widen with fear and anger. It takes Sam a half second longer to realize they're talking about their son, Mark. Dean has raised this boy as his own from the moment of his birth, but none of them, his mother most especially, dare to forget that it was Castiel who sired him. Though in truth it was Castiel's vessel whose lifeblood flowed in his veins, and perhaps that is why the boy resembled Dean in almost every aspect, moreso the biological appearance of the vessel that facilitated his existence, save his eyes of course. But it was not the vessel that imparted the boy's angel abilities into his soul, the soul that had once belonged to their brother Adam, and gave him the grace reserved only for the feathered creations of God. Nephilim, the being that usually results from the union of an inhabited vessel and a human, are born full grown monsters that kill their mothers at birth and wreak havoc and terror on the masses of Earth, unable to contain their grace and corrupted by the inherit sin of humanity. Mark was no such being. His mother as the daughter of John Winchester was born to house angels, and not just any angels but the archangel Michael himself, and would have done so save the gift of prophesy bestowed on her at birth. Her flesh was bred to bear the burden of grace, and her soul was purified by the waters of her gift of prophecy. Thus her son was an unheard of being, a human with an angel's grace that had been formed anew.

"When?" Is the question on Dean's lips. He lets out a low hiss of anger. If Naomi can't find Castiel, she's going to go after the only thing that can link her to him. The son will know his father, even though his father does not know him. Cas may have disowned Mark, the thought still makes Sam a little sick though Jamie and Dean have accepted it, and Mark may believe that Dean is his father, but in the end Mark's angelic abilities can point to his sire. All Mark would need to do is call to Cas with his grace, and that grace would reach through time and space and pluck Cas, against his will even, from wherever and bring him back to unite with his child.

"Soon." Was the only answer Jamie would give. She would not reveal the date, and it struck Sam that maybe she didn't know it herself, she only knew that it would come.

Their daughter cries out for her mother's breast. Their son awakens to his baby sister's wails, and even in his rush to find his mother and let her know of the baby's needs, things like this make even Sam forget that Mark really isn't Dean's son, he automatically notices the presence of his father. Dean is swept away into his often neglected paternal role, curled up beside his son in bed, reading _The Lorax_, _The Tales of_ _Arthur and the Round Table_, and some ancient text on vampires that causes Sam to snicker when he stumbles over the Latin verbs. He and Jamie are sitting on the couch by the fire, his niece, Emmy, is loudly suckling away, occasionally opening emerald eyes at her uncle, but closing them again just as quickly. She's barely a month old and Sam can't help but frown as the mass of danger she's already in. But he hides the frown from his niece, instead leaning over his sister to kiss her soft pink skin and muss with her auburn hair, already growing in thick like her mother's, but straight like her father's rather than in her mother's soft waves. He chuckles at the irony, her brother looks exactly like their father save the fact that he has Castiel's eyes, while she is a perfect hybrid of her parents except that her eyes are her father's brilliant shade of green.

"_You're dying_." Jamie mutters softly through their telepathic link, when the two of them are lying together in her bed. Dean has fallen asleep in Mark's bed, with his arms around his boy and his boy's tiny fingers gripping his t-shirt to ensure he doesn't leave in the night. Emmy is slumbering peaceful in her crib just a few feet from the bed, and he turns to look at her rather than his sister, trying not to acknowledge her ominous prophecy, though that proves difficult with her ability to read his thoughts, a gift he has not mastered in the reciprocate, though she insists it's possible.

"_I know_." He knows. Afterall Castiel proclaimed he was damaged in ways even an angel couldn't heal, and he sees it day after day, as his symptoms grow worse and more frequent. Almost reluctantly he rolls over to face his sister. He drapes an arm over her hip, and she reached out and grips his t-shirt, staring at him with those watery blue eyes full of pain and sadness that nothing will ever cleanse.

"_I just got Dean back after a year."_

"_Your kids have their father back, and they won't lose him again. I'm gonna make sure of it."_

"_Stop it Sam. Don't pretend you're sacrificing yourself so that Mark and Emmy have their daddy." _

"_But I am. This family needs Dean. He's your big brother, the father of your children, and hell if Cas is gonna have a ballpark's chance of being okay without Dean."_

"_We need you too. Damnit Sam don't bring this up. I thought we were past this picking favorites thing!" _

"_I'm talking more about Dean's suicidal tendency to believe that he's the grunt and it's his job to die so that you and I can live."_

"_Yeah, well, that isn't going to go away, and if you die Dean is gonna be a mess just like the last two times."_

"_This last time wasn't terrible."_

"_You didn't see him."_

"_Neither did you."_

"_I couldn't! I had wings seared to my soul, Cas and I were fighting a war. Besides, this last time with Dean, don't pretend that you were any kind of alright. There were a couple of nights I packed Mark in the truck and took off to go get you." _

"_I've apologized for that. I was trying to keep you off Crowley's radar." _

"_I know. I'm actually surprised Crowley's been quiet on my end. I half expect to wake up and find him standing over me."_

"_Tell me you keep an angel blade hidden under your pillow." _

"_Right next to my gun." _

"_Oh is that what the lump is?"_They erupted into quiet laughter, and Sam is relieved to see his sister smile, even if the expression only plays for a second upon her lips. "Stop worrying about me." He tells her, leaning forward and brushing his lips against her cheek. There was a time when his sister was not so concerned for his safety. When Dean was raised from hell he and Jamie had grown fair apart, though they tried not to let Dean see it. Jamie knew about the demon blood, she knew about his addiction, she knew his sins. He had severed their bond as twin souls, and he nearly severed their bond as siblings with it. They had only just begun to repair their damaged relationship after 5 long years.

Dean still doesn't know about the fight they had. About how Jamie, pale and weak with grief and torment, not just because of the death of her beloved older brother but also the death of her fiancé, had sought out a crossroads demon. Sam had already been pulling away from her. Already he had been seeing Ruby. Jamie stayed at Bobby's long after he left to hunt again, to extract his revenge on anything that moved. She wouldn't hunt. She couldn't. Sam didn't know it, but she felt Dean's pain in hell, she dreamed of it, she just about lived it. The pre-awakening of the prophet within her had brought on a psychic connection to the souls of both her brothers, so that she felt the hellfire and the demon blood, finally she could not take it. So that night she took her truck down to the crossroads and summoned the demon. The demon that would not deal with Sam came willingly to Jamie, alone and vulnerable. Jamie told the demon she didn't want years, she just wanted their places switched, she would take Dean's place in hell. The deal made, the terms set, Jamie started to lock lips with the demon, only to find herself thrown back, and her twin's teeth sunk deep with the neck of the demon.

It had waken her up. Seeing him, so corrupted, so unhuman, it torn down the sheet of depression that she had been encased in. Her eyes were alive again, that was his first thought when he dropped the demon's body and turned to face his twin. She stared at him with anger that progressed to rage. She had been wrapped in Dean's leather jacket and a pair of his jeans, depression had taken over her body and she paler and slimmer than before and even so she looked more threatening, the more he looked at her the more he swore she looked just like him. Even her voice was not hers when she spoke to him. "You are not my brother anymore." She had hissed, and he had fled, because she had become Dean, and he had failed her as he had failed him.

He blinked back the memory found her staring intently at him. She moved closer, sinking into his chest and he curled himself around her. "You will always be my brother, Sam." She mutters, before falling asleep. He hopes so. He hopes so.

The next morning Dean is trying to take the crib apart in a way that will allow him to put it back together later, when they're safe at the compound. Jamie is busy nursing Emmy and getting Mark breakfast while Sam packs the SUV and the Impala with various items, most of them are her kids' things. Luckily Jamie still has a hunter's mindset, most of her stuff fits in a duffel, and the heaviest thing is her box of books that includes stuff for spells and weapons. "Eat fast, kiddo." Sam tells his nephew, ruffling his hair as he helps Dean carrying the "crib from hell" out into the Impala.

"I got something for you, son." Dean walks in carrying a necklace with an angel sigil branded into it. He kneels down in front of Mark and touches the amulet around his neck. It was his once upon a time, but he threw it away in anger. Jamie kept it, though, and gave it to their son. "I need you to wear this, okay buddy? You can't take it off." The boy protests Dean removing the amulet, afterall it's his daddy's, it's what keeps Dean close to him.

"Dean." Jamie says in warning, starting towards her brother and her son. Too late, Mark uses his powers, conjuring the symbol unto his amulet. Jamie closes her eyes and sighs. "Mark."

Dean and Sam look at each other and then to Jamie. "Jamie?" Dean asks softly.

Jamie looks around the cabin. "The sigils should have absorbed his powers, but we need to get out of here, now."

"Time to go, guys." Dean picks up Mark and carries him outside quickly. Jamie follows with the baby, and Sam hurriedly gestures them out. They rush to the SUV, and Sam helps his brother and sister secure their kids inside. "We'll be right behind you." Dean tells Jamie, pulling her into a tight hug. "It will be okay."

The ride to the compound is long and the kids don't tolerate it well. Emmy cries to be fed and Mark complains loudly. Jamie sighs, reaching for her cellphone. "Dean?"

"Yeah?" Dean's voice crackles on the other end.

"We gotta pull over, Emmy has to be fed again and Mark isn't going to take much more of this."

"Alright, I have an idea."

Sam drives so that Jamie can nurse. They switch their son into the Impala with Dean, figuring that if they're being watched then switching the boy between them will each at least buy them a minute. Jamie worries, but says nothing.

They're only halfway there when trouble finds them. Jamie sits straight up, gasping and writhing for breath, one hand clutched on her heart, blue eyes wide with terror. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" She commanded. Sam wordlessly obeys, pulling over unto the side of the road. Dean stops a few feet behind them, and by that point Jamie sprints through the snow to the Impala, tearing towards her son.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Dean asks, horrified. Sam's eyes are wide and he looks at his brother with the worry that comes only from unknown terror. "Jamie?"

"We have to get out of here. We have to find…" She pauses and whirls around. "There's an abandoned house off the next exit. We'll hold up there." She climbs into the back of the Impala, beside her son.

"Sam, protect my daughter." Dean grabs unto his brother's arm roughly for a moment and then heads to the Impala.

Jamie jumps up and kicks open the front door to the house. It flies open with a bang. "Dean start angel-proofing, Sam lay down salt lies and get a devil's trap painted." Dean nods, handing Mark over to her. Sam passes her the baby and she takes them into another room.

"She's spooked." Sam comments with a sigh, getting the salt.

"There are angels after our kids!"

"Yeah, but this is Jamie. The last time I saw her she was covered in blood and half passed out, and still wasn't as freaked. She definitely saw something."

"You think this is a fight we can't win?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Dean!"

Dean and Sam rushed into the room to find Jamie facing an Asian man in a suit. She was crotched defensively in front of her children. "Asher." She hissed, obviously recognizing the angel.

"You know him?" Sam asked softly, he and Dean moving to either side of her.

"I trained him in Heaven with Cas." She didn't take her eyes off him. "I taught you everything you know, Asher. You know better than to cross me."

"I am sorry prophetess." Asher replied.

Jamie pulled her angel blade from her belt. "Not yet, you're not. I stood beside you, Asher, against Raphael's angels. Your own brothers tried to kill you and I defended you. I was with you in that field. I saved you! And you would repay me by taking my son from me?"

Asher paused for just a moment and then drew his own angel blade. "I have orders to take the boy. Even if that means killing you." He added the last part quietly. Jamie narrowed her eyes.

"God protects me, Asher. You know this. You saw his light radiate around me in that field. I am HIS and Naomi is nothing in his sight! She is not God, Asher! She does not do his will." Asher hesitated again and then stepped forward. "If you fight me, Asher, you will die."

Behind them another angel appeared, close to Mark and Emmy. "Mama!" Mark cried out.

"No!" Jamie whirled around and holy fire shot forth from her palm, engulfing the angel who cried in pain.

"Jamie look out!" Sam yelled, moving to shove his sister from the path of Asher's angel blade.

"Sammy, don't." Jamie's telekinesis shoved Sam back into the wall. She skillfully avoided the angel blade and sent another stream of fire towards Asher. He screamed in pain, engulfed by the blaze. "NAOMI!" Jamie screamed. "I know you've sent others." She hissed, turning back to her son and daughter, now safely in Dean's arms. A ring of holy fire appeared around his feet. "Ego sum propheta Domini. Ego vox de caelo. Ego sum Dei filia. Naomi, he gifted me with holy fire that bends to my will and my will alone. You will not sway my will, and YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY SON! God still lives, Naomi, and I swear by my prophetic tongue that you will come to a less then savory end."

The room grew utterly quiet. A few tense moments past, and few more. Finally Jamie held up her hand. "Liberare eos." The flames died away.

"Is it over?" Sam asked quietly. Dean looked at him somberly, Mark clutched against his chest and Emmy whimpering at the other side. He cast a sideways glance at his sister and then left the room to tend to his children.

"It won't be over until we close the gates of Heaven." Jamie muttered, her blue eyes staring into him. He swore they touched his soul.


	56. 819 Taxi Driver

He covered his infant daughter with the soft purple and pink spotted blanket hanging over the bars of her crib, tucking it neatly around her before leaning over and planting a kiss in her soft auburn hair. He reached up and readjusted the pentagram, the aquarian star, the cross, and the other various religious symbols that hung like a mobile from the ceiling over her. A devil's trap was drawn in chalk just in front of her crib, and he stooped to check the markings before he shut off the light from the pink teddy bear lamp that rested on her dresser. Closing the door to her room he rested his forehead against the cool wood of the frame and quietly prayed. "Dad, Mom, Bobby, watch over my daughter, keep her from harm."

Opening his eyes he crossed the hallway threshold to the blue painted room across the hall. The door was open and he leaned against the frame, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. His three year old son was nestled under his army colored blanket, reclining his head against his mother's chest as she read him _The Lorax_ for the 500th time. His eyelids drooped at the sound of his mother's soothing voice and after a moment, the boy was asleep. His mother kissed him and quietly slid from her place on the bed, tucking him in and then seeing to the same rituals he had just performed for their daughter. He backed out of her way so that she could close the door, stopping as he listened to her echo the request for protection. It had been started by her when their son was born, and they had continued it with their daughter.

They were not typical parents, not just because they were hunters, or because they were Winchesters, legacies of the Men of Letters, or because she was a prophet and he the vessel of Michael, but because they were brother and sister. He had never touched her in that way, never laid a finger on her in any form that was not chaste and merely the touch of an older brother caring for his younger sister, but they were still a couple. She was the biological mother of both children, but he was not their son's biological father, though one look at the boy would cause an outsider to dispute that. It was only in biology, however, that he was not their son's father, and barely that as he was biologically still related to him. Moreso their son is the reincarnation of their younger half brother, taken too young by the forces they have long hunted, and so he is tied as closely to the boy as if he sired him himself, and most days they wouldn't contest that he did to avoid the complicated story of their son's conception. Their daughter is biologically his, but her conception is more complicated than her brother's. Her conception was virginal, the result of extreme reincarnation whereby the soul of the daughter he sired with a demon entered him to escape purgatory, and coming out of him pierced herself into his sister and was conceived. She was a perfect mix of him and her.

He never imagined that he'd have kids with anyone, let alone his sister, but knowing what he knows now it only makes sense. An outsider, another hunter, even a woman who had grown up in the life would never be able to fight the way his sister could. And he would not dare bring anyone else into his life, as dangerous and short as it is. When she conceived their son he wanted her out, and she stubbornly refused. But when their daughter was born she had little choice. She no longer sought out danger; instead she let it come to her, let other hunters come to her for help with their own monsters. She claimed it was temporary, he was sure he knew better. She liked this new role, as mother, as housewife, and hell, as the new Bobby. She was better suited for it then Garth in a practical sense, she had a better grasp of the fieldwork and her knowledge of lore was supplemented further by her psychic abilities. It fit her to play the mentor, something the newest generation of hunters would need.

"I stopped in and saw Krissy and the kids today." She's telling him, but he's barely listening, still lost in his thoughts. "I understand what you meant when you said I'd like her. She's just as stubborn as I was when AJ and I were just starting out." He watched as she changed out of jeans and into sweats. She was wearing one of those nursing tanks that are supposed to make breast feeding easier. It was Sam's idea to buy her a couple, and he had loudly protested against it, figuring their sister would hate them. He lost, but he at least had managed to convince Sam to buy just the black ones. She loved them, go figure, and Sam still lulled it over him. "I think I might even let her babysit one of these days. She seems like she could handle Mark and Emmy." She crawled into bed and settled herself under the covers, pulling her long blonde hair loose and kicking the blankets around. "Are you going to watch me sleep again?" She was staring at him from the bed, her blue eyes following his movements.

He chuckled lightly and walked into the room. Weapons of every shape and form were hung carefully on the wall behind the bed. An old record player was shoved against one wall, and the desk on the opposite side held their father's journal, along with his own, and Jamie's. It was his room, or it had been, until he and Sam insisted that Jamie and the kids were safest at the compound. Originally their daughter's room had been Jamie's, but it was too small to hold a bed and a crib, especially with the devil's trap painted on the floor. Their son's room wasn't any bigger, and Dean finally just insisted that Jamie share his room. They put all awkwardness aside then and there. They stopped caring. He was the father of her children; he had help deliver them, sharing a bed barely measured up. And so Jamie moved into his room and shared his bed, and slowly the room morphed into a combination of them both. Next to the desk was a large old fashion bookcase that held numerous volumes, ever growing, many of them had been Bobby's but some were uniquely hers. The chest beside the record player held various spell paraphernalia, everything from bowls and candles to what he figured was the eye of a newt and the tail of a dog. And their bedspread was black, her favorite color.

He pulled off the solid green shirt was he was wearing over his t-shirt and stripped off his jeans. She watched in feigned amusement as he pulled on a pair of track pants and walked over to their bed. "Like what you see?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow as he pulled back the comforter and slid into the bed.

"Oh you know it." She said with a laugh, but it disappears quickly. They can both hear coughing across the hall. Their brother heaves and gasps for breath. Jamie turns quickly to look at him, but he's staring at the door. When the coughing fails to stop they're both on their feet, hurrying to Sam's room.

Dean reaches him first, grabbing his brother's shoulders and rubbing his upper back. Jamie appears at his other side her arms wrapping around his torso, hands at his chest. "Sammy." She says softly. "Look at me, look at me." She demands softly. Her psychic powers can only calm him down so much, but it helps to quiet the coughing.

"Sammy?" Dean asks. His brother looks at him and nods before curling back up into bed. Dean tugs the sheet over him and turns out the light. Jamie is already climbing back into their bed. He hesitates for a moment, glancing back towards Sam's room, and then gets back in beside her. "Still the same? You still see Sam dying?" He asks in a hushed whisper.

"The trials will claim Sam's life. But…there's something that's starting to manifest and it's been growing stronger ever since Naomi's focus shifted away from Mark."

"Like a light at the end of the tunnel?"

Jamie scoffed. "Yeah, something like that."

"So Sammy might be okay?"

"Define okay." She stared hard at him and he looked down. She sighed, snuggling against him. He wrapped his arms around her, running his fingers gently through her hair, his chin resting on the top of her head. She squeezed her eyes shut but he lay awake.

When she awoke the next morning, the bed was empty. With a sigh she rolled off the mattress and gestured with her hand for yesterday's jeans. There was a time when she would refuse to use her powers for these trivial tasks, to avoid becoming dependent upon them, but that was a long time ago. When AJ died, Dean went to hell, and Sam left her she found that everyday tasks were the perfect way to strength her powers. It made them feel like they were a physical part of her, no different from her hands, her eyes, her organs. She tried not to let Dean and Sam see just how much she relied on them.

Her phone vibrated from the dresser and she held her hand open. It flew from the table into her palm. "Hey, Jamie." Came Dean's voice on the other end. "Kevin-"

"Finished translating the second trial. Sam has to raise an innocent soul from Hell and send it to Heaven. You called Krissy to come stay with Mark and Emmy." She finished for him.

"Everything but the last part, which I will do now." Dean told her, taking the hint.

She sighed deeply as she hung up the phone, putting her face in her hands for a moment. When she looked up a pen and a piece of paper floated unto her lap.

"Make sure Mark goes down for a nap. And there are bottles for Emmy in the fridge. There should be enough, but if there isn't there is powdered formula in the cabinet above the stove." She rattled off a few more directions and then kissed her daughter, already slumbering in the teenage hunter's arms. "I should be back in a day or two."

Mark clung tightly to his mother's leg, frowning up at the gun buckled into the utility belt around her waist. Jamie bent at the waist to hold her son, clutching him tightly before setting him back towards Krissy. "I'll be back, Mark. I promise." She kissed the amulet around his neck, and then kissed him. "Daddy will be back too." She planted a third kiss in his hair as he let out a whimper. "We'll be okay."

Leaving her kids is hard, but knowing her brother will be tramping through hell is harder. When Dean had left them to defeat Dick Roman and the Leviathan, she could not separate her roles. She had to be mother and hunter, sister and warrior. Dean could not. He had to be the hunter first and a father, a brother, a lover, last of all. Now was her time to separate herself, otherwise she would never be able to do what needed to be done.

"So what did the demon say?" It's night, it's late, it's raining, and she's parked in an alley beside the Impala. She pops the collar on her black leather jacket. Dean and Sam walk up to her, and Dean glances at Sam. Sam locks eyes with their sister, no words are spoken. After a moment she nods, absorbing the information Sam relies to her. She turns and follows them out into the street to where a yellow cab is parked, the taxi driver stands next to his cab, newspaper in hand.

"Ajay." Dean says casually, "Need to talk to you for a sec."

"You know my name." The taxi driver removes his Bluetooth headset, slightly surprised at the sound of his name. He looks over each figure in turn, noting the ripped jeans and heavy jackets. His eyes lock with Jamie's for a moment and he recognizes the subtle, but sharp stare of a psychic.

"And what you do." Sam says confidently. "We want to do business."

He raises an eyebrow. "But you are mortal - flesh and blood."

Jamie hestitates long enough for her brothers to glance at her. "But if we wanted to cross the border into Hell –"

"-Visitor's pass." Dean puts in, and she and Sam both automatically roll their eyes.

Ajay shakes his head. "No one wants to get into Hell."

"But could a coyote like you do it?" Sam insists.

He shrugs. "It's possible. But I have special skills. I have overhead. It will be pricey."

Dean glances at his siblings and then back to the coyote. "How pricey?"

"You three are resourceful. One day, you will owe me a favor."

Sam scoffs. "You say that like you know us."

Jamie raises her chin, her blue eyes never leaving his face. "He does know us. More then I'm comfortable with." She says the second part quietly, but Dean and Sam still hear her.

He smiles. "Of course. You're the Winchesters."

"Sorry. Have we met?" Dean asks.

Another smile. "I am-"

Jamie's eyes flash with stolen knowledge. "The reaper who took Bobby Singer to Hell." She relies. Her brothers stiffen at either side, and she raises her hands to each of their chests. "Bobby in Hell? How? We burned his bones." She tells him. Her eyes are panicy now. Dean and Sam's hearts beat wildly in their chest, though neither wants to believe it.

"Once we did that, it was over." Sam continues.

"End of story." Dean finishes.

"Hmm... Not necessarily."

Jamie's eyes fill with flames of hellfire. She gasps softly, unlocks the telepathic link to her twin. Through the link she passes the vision, and Sam sees through her eyes.

Dean, who does not share the mind link, chuckles humorlessly. "No, no, no, 'cause, see, Bobby was on the good side of things, and good guys go to the penthouse."

The coyote reaper shrugs his shoulders, still calm and collected in the face of three nervous, angry Winchesters. "Usually, mostly. Depends on who you know, what palms get greased. If you're on the King of Hell's no-fly list, no way you cruise the friendly skies."

There is on name on all three of their tongues, and it's shrouded with curses and blasphemy. It's Dean who says it. "Crowley." With barely a look to either sibling he confronts Ajay. "Okay, let's do this. How much for two tickets down and three back?"

"Dean." They both mutter his name at the same time, but for different reasons. She isn't happy at the prospect of being left behind, and he doesn't think either sibling should accompany him.

"What?" Dean asks innocently.

"Come here." Sam gestures to the street and the siblings walk a short distance away. "What the hell are you thinking?" He demands.

"You heard the guy - Bobby's in Hell. We're gonna spring him." He shoots back.

"Uh…not without me." Jamie's eyes are ablaze with anger. Dean relents a little.

"Okay, four tickets then." He says with a shrug.

"Wrong." Sam puts his foot down firmly, looking at both siblings now. "We've gone over this. I have to do the trials solo."

"You need me down there, Sam. I'm a walking road map, I can navigate hell." She insists.

He shakes his head. "You've never been to hell, Jamie. You don't know what it's like."

"You think I'm afraid of hell?" She demands, pushing Dean aside as she stares at Sam. "I suffered through both of your tours." She hisses, clutching her heart. "I felt the torture, I felt your pain. I'm not afraid of it."

Sam sighs. "There are billions of souls suffering down there. The way your powers have expanded, you step foot in there you'll be overcome with the agony and the suffering."

Jamie frowns, looking away, but Dean isn't quite readying to give up. "This is Bobby we're talking about, Sam. Now let's face it - you have not exactly been up to full speed lately, okay? We got one shot at this. We can't miss."

"I'm not gonna miss." He says firmly, opening his jacket to show he's carrying Ruby's knife. "I'll bring him back." The discussion over, he walks back to Ajay. "I'm in, just me."

His siblings share a look and his sister backs away.

"Follow me."

His brother, however, walks forward. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. How does this... Work?"

"Not to fret. He'll be back in exactly 24 hours time. Return for him then." Ajay leads Sam away. Dean looks at his watch. Jamie stares after her brother.

"What do we do now?" Dean asks turning his head and glancing at his sister. Jamie is staring across the street.

"Let's get out of here." Jamie mutters.

"What?"

"Dean, we have to go, now." He looks at her and she stares back at him. After a moment he nods and they hurry back to the Impala.

Awhile later they pull up to Garth's boat. As they go inside Jamie looks around, her eyes darting from one space to another. "Yo, Kev, it's me and Jamie!" Dean calls as he enters. he's carrying a tray of take-out food.

"Kevin?" Jamie asks, turning around.

"Where is he?" Dean asks. Jamie nods to the closet.

"I believe the closet would be safest." Kevin opens the closet door, speaks from the doorway.

"Safe from what?" Dean asks tentatively. Jamie stiffens at his side.

"Crowley. He's in my head, guys. And if he's in my head, he knows where I am! You know, we - we should move out. We'll find another place."

Dean turns and looks expectantly at his sister. Jamie across the distance between her and Kevin. "Just relax." She tells him softly. She stares intently at Kevin, who looks terrified.

"Uh…Dean…"

"Shh." Jamie tells him, raising her hands to either side of his head.

Kevin gets all freaked out and Jamie finally blinks and moves away. "It's not Crowley." She tells her brother. "At least physically him."

Dean nods. "Here that, Kev, you just need to chill out, huh? Have a burger. Come on. Don't lose it on me now, dude." Jamie gives him a small smile and he exits the closet. "There you go. That's it."

Kevin doesn't look enthused. "Just tell me when this all ends, 'cause that's the only thing I want to hear."

Dean sighs, leaning against the table. "No, like I told you before, this isn't going to end. Look, man, other guys, they got it easy, you know? It's all backyard barbecues and... bowling teams, but you, Jamie, and me? We got to carry a little extra weight."

Kevin shakes his head. "I can't take it." He looks away.

Dean moves closer to him. "Yes, you can. Hey, look at me. Now, this whole thing sucks. I know. But you suck it up and you push through because that's what we do. And when you get on board with that, the ride is a lot smoother. French fry?" He holds out the cardboard container.

"I'm gonna - I'm gonna be in my room. Let me know when there's a good day."He takes the tray of take-out, goes back into the closet and shuts the door.

Dean looks at Jamie with a deep frown. "That's my pie." Jamie snickers.

The next morning Dean is at the stove, frying eggs and bacon. Jamie wakes up from the chair she's been sleeping in and looks over at her brother. "Hey."

"Hey." Dean says softly. "Mornin."

"You know, I never figured you for the nesting type." She says with a smirk. Dean shrugs.

"Hey, I got kids now." He says simply.

"Speaking of kids, I'm gonna go call Krissy." She gets up and grabs her phone, going in the other room.

"Hey, Kevin! Come in here and grab some of these eggs. Kev! Come on, man. You can't hide in there forever." Dean calls to the closet. Kevin enters through the main door. "Where the hell you been? What happened to being scared?"

Kevin shrugs. "I am scared. So I made a preemptive move."

Dean looks worried. "So... Made a what now?"

"I can't sit here with the tablet like a... sitting duck and Crowley breathing down my ass. Getting rid of the tablet just takes off some of the pressure."

Dean's jaw drops a little. "Wait. Getting rid of it?"

"Temporarily. I hid it."

"What? Where?"

"If I tell you where, it's not hidden, is it?"

Dean narrows his eyes. "Kevin, tell me where the damn tablet is, or I swear to you –"

"You'll what, Dean? Sick Jamie on me?" He goes back into the closet and shuts the door.

"Kevin!" Dean yells. Jamie walks back into the room, Dean turns to her. "Jamie, Kevin hid the tablet."

"He what now?" Jamie asks, and then sighs, rolling her eyes. "Oh no."

"What?"

"He's…blocking me. Like Sam used to do. I can't read his mind."

Dean narrows his eyes. "So what do we do?"

"We can't do anything. He's probably not even realizing that he's blocking me. It's a protective mechanism. Kevin is strung so tight right now that his prophet powers are starting to kick in. Chuck used to do it to me too."

Dean sighs in disgust. Jamie suddenly rushes to him and grabs unto him, shoving him behind her. "Ja-" He looks up and sees Naomi standing there. He stiffens, Jamie drops into defensive stance.

"Kids. So cute when they're little. Then they turn into teenagers, and the party's over." Naomi smiles kindly. "We haven't been formally introduced. My name is Naomi." She sticks her hand out to shake Dean's hand, but he backs away from her. Jamie stiffens further.

"Oh, I know who you are. You tried to take my son." Dean's voice drips with venom, and he draws Jamie closer.

"A regrettable decision on my part, I apologize." Naomi doesn't stop smiling.

Dean curls his fingers around Jamie's shoulder, keeping her back. " And I know what you did to Cass after he got out of Purgatory." Dean sneers.

"After I rescued him from Purgatory, you mean, at the cost of many angels' lives."

"Bull." Jamie hisses, her blue eyes focused on Naomi's face. She keeps her fist balled, focusing on her energy on her power to create holy fire.

"You screwed with his head and had him spy on us." Dean accuses.

Naomi nods, not phased. "Well, it is true that I have spoken with Castiel many times, trying to reach out to him, trying to help him. Dean, you must have noticed how Purgatory changed him. I mean, he's been unstable in the past, but I was shocked at how damaged he is now."

Dean shakes his head. "Stop, okay? Don't - don't try to spin this. You think I don't know that you told him to try and kill me?"

"Hmm. Yeah, I suppose that is how he would hear it. When I learned of the Angel tablet, I did tell Castiel to get it at any cost. That's my job - to protect heaven. I'm a warrior, just as you are. What would you expect? And now Castiel is in the wind with a hydrogen bomb in his pocket, and I - I'm scared, for all of us." Dean glances at Jamie. She still isn't looking at him. "Oh Jamie, please, you must know-"

"Save it. See, regardless of her powers, I don't trust Angels, which means I don't trust you."

"And yet you haven't warded this place against us. I know. You're hoping Castiel will return to you. I admire your loyalty. I only wish he felt the same way. I know you don't want to believe it, Dean, but we're on the same side - shutting the Gates of Hell, bringing Castiel in from the cold. Take a moment. Think about what I've said. Oh. I know you've been doing business with Ajay. He did mention, didn't he, that his way into Hell is through Purgatory? I knew you'd want to know. You see, we can be of help to each other." She leaves, with the sound of wings flapping away.

Jamie turns pale and then falls to her knees. Dean drops down next to her. They stare at each other.

That night Dean and Jamie come around the corner in the alley, looking for Ajay's car. Jamie spots and it points it out to Dean. Dean stops by the car door, pounds on the window. "Ajay? Hey." He opens the door, but Ajay is dead. Dean's jaw drop and he whirls back around to Jamie. Jamie is breathing hard, she looks at Dean with wide eyes. "Now what?" Dean asks in a harsh whisper.

"I…I don't…Dean…" She presses her lips into a thin line.

Dean stares at her for a moment and then nods. "God…"

"It's…you don't have much of a choice, Dean." She tells him. He nods again, taking out his cellphone. After a moment he dials a number. "Teah. Hey, it's me." Jamie closes her eyes, frowning as she hears Benny's voice. "I know. I know, man. It's been a long time. I mean, I wanted to call. I did. I just, uh... I thought it might be better if I didn't."

"So good to hear your voice, Dean. I mean that."

Dean looks at Jamie as he talks. "How you been?"

"Oh, you know... I get by."

"I guess I let you down, huh?"

"Look, I'm, uh... I'm just happy as hell to hear from you."

Dean frowns. Jamie looks away. "You might change your mind about that."

"Why? What you mean?"

"Benny, I got to ask you a favor. It's a big one."

Jamie is leaning against the Impala. Dean stands beside her looking at Benny. He's just finished explaining his plan. "If you want nothing to do with this, I completely understand."

Benny smiles a little. "Wow. When Dean Winchester asks for a favor, he's not screwing around."

Jamie scoffs a little, looking away. Benny shrugs. Dean looks extremely upset. "Benny, sending you back there is the last thing I ever wanted to do."

"I know. I know."

Dean frowns. "But my little brother is stuck down there."

"This would be the little brother who wants to kill me, right?" He tries to look amused.

"You got access to the place, Benny. We don't. My power, my link is only so strong down there. I can't guide him the whole way." Jamie explains, looking guilty.

Benny smiles. "By "access," you mean "getting beheaded"?

Dean looks away. "Yeah, you're right - it's too much. It's not like I've exactly been there for you lately." His voice shakes.

"What? Oh, come on, Dean. You know I love a challenge."

Dean looks at him. "You're serious?"

"Hey, he's your brother. I say let's do this."

"Thank you, Benny." Jamie says softly.

"I owe you." Dean adds.

Benny waves his hand. "Oh, you don't owe me nothing. Truth is, uh... I could use a break from all this."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "It really been that tough?"

Benny smiles. "I'm not a good fit, Dean. Not with vampires and, for sure, not with the humans. I don't belong. And after a while... that starts to wear on you. Right? Cry me a river. Like you need to listen to this."

"Well, when you get back up here, we're gonna fix all that, okay?" Dean promises.

"When I get back?"

He nods. "Yeah, you find the portal, and your ride out of Purgatory with Sam just like you did with me, okay? As soon as I send you back, we're gonna haul our asses up to Maine, and we'll be waiting there for you when you get topside."

Benny smiles. "Yeah. That sounds like a plan, chief. Let's get on with it."

Jamie lunges forward and hugs Benny tightly. "Thank you." She says again. He chuckles softly, hugging her back. She pulls away and stands beside Dean.

"You sure about this?" He asks.

"Not my first rodeo, man." Benny says confidently.

Dean reaches into the Impala, pulls a machete out of its case. He extends his right hand to Benny to shake, they clasp hands and pull each other into a hug. "Thank you." They pull apart. Jamie squeezes her eyes shut and looks away.

"Well, come on. You a wimp?"

Dean looks at the blade, stones himself, and then beheads Benny. Jamie gasps out, putting a hand on her heart. Dean turns and looks at her. She nods, getting into the Impala. Dean gets plastic wrap from the trunk.

Jamie closes her eyes and tries to find Sam. "Sam…Sam…can you hear me?" She waits, trying to find the link. "Oh Sam don't do this. Not now. Sam!"

Dean tosses the bloody machete into the trunk. He slams the trunk shut and gets into the car. Jamie looks at him, worried. "You can't hear him, can you." She shakes her head. Dean slams the stirring wheel and then starts the car.

"Sam!" Jamie yells in her head, trying to back through. She shakes. Dean is speeding down the road. He reaches over and grabs unto her.

"Jamie!" He looks over at her, and she opens her eyes gasping for breath. "It's okay."

"No it isn't. If I can't break through to Sam now, what is it going to be like when he does the last trial?" Starts to shut her eyes again and Dean shakes her arm.

"No, you're staying with me. I'm not losing both siblings. Benny will get Sam out." Dean says firmly. Jamie sighs.

They reach the 100 mile wilderness in Maine and grab flashlights, hiking silently through the woods. Jamie stays close to Dean, focusing on trying to feel Sam while Dean looks for the spot. Suddenly both siblings stop, there's a bright flash of light and Sam appears. Jamie drops her flashlight and rushes to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He hugs her back as Dean walks up and grabs him into a hug. "Purgatory, right? A real garden spot, ain't it?"

The siblings pull back and Sam nods. "Yeah."

"Did you get him out?" Dean asks.

Sam looks guilty. Jamie's eyes widen. "Only Bobby." She mutters.

Dean looks at Jamie and then at Sam. "What? I mean, that's fantastic about Bobby."

Sam sighs. "Dean, look - Benny, uh... He got us out. A bunch of vamps showed, and he used himself as bait. I get the feeling that even if that didn't happen, he didn't want to come back, you know? I'm sorry."

Dean frowns. "You're probably right. So, uh... Bobby - how - how'd he hold up down there?"

"He's good, all things considered. Ornery as hell, of course." Sam grins, and a beat later so do Dean and Jamie.

"As he should be." Jamie says.

Dean nods. "Let's put that old man where he belongs."

"Yeah." Sam pulls up his jacket sleeve, knife in hand. "Solvo haec phantasmata in terram" There are glowing yellow and red light writhing under Sam's skin "et inde ad olympum." Sam holds his arm up, the light is now a bluish/white that starts to rise up into the sky. Suddenly it turns into a cloudy mix of red and black.

"No!" Jamie yells.

"What the hell?" Dean asks.

"Hello, boys. Jamie." Crowley is standing close by. He looks upwards. "Bobby Singer - I'd know you anywhere."

Dean steps in front of Sam and Jamie. "Let him go, Crowley. He doesn't belong in Hell."

Crowley smirks. "He does if I say he does. He's inflicted untold damage on my kind. From where I sit, actually, Hell's too good for him. Really?" Sam and Dean rush Crowley who just flicks his index finger. Sam and Dean are flung away until they're slammed, held motionless against two large tree trunks where they dangle several feet off the ground. Jamie however throws her hands out, deflecting Crowley's blast. She steps back defensively. "Oh Jamie…" He clicks his tongue and throws his hand out towards her. She falls unto the ground. He looks up at Bobby's red/black cloud-like soul that's now starting to come back down towards earth. "What? Oh come on." Bobby's soul now has flashes of white light shooting through it. Jamie gets up.

Naomi is standing there."Let me see if I've interpreted the situation correctly. The Winchesters have freed an innocent from Hell, to which you are wrongfully trying to return it." She says.

"Siding with them, Naomi? You don't know those two. Before they're done, we'll both be locked away.

"I'm just hoping they lock you away, dear. The rest I'll figure out."

"Bureaucrat. You're fighting outside your weight class."

"Don't call me a bureaucrat." Naomi extends her hand towards Crowley, her eyes and hand shining with angel power. He disappears. Jamie whirls around towards Dean and Sam, who are released from the trees, plummet towards the ground. Jamie uses her power to steady them, and they land on their feet. Naomi raises her hand upwards, Bobby's soul turns blue and white, then shoots up into the sky, to heaven. She looks at Dean. "I told you you could trust me." She wings out. Jamie glares at the spot.

"What the hell was that about?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes his head. "I'll tell you later. Let's get this trial done." Jamie joins her brothers. Sam takes the scrap of paper out of his pocket, intones the enochian phrase.

"Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr." Sam grabs his right hand, falls to his knees in agony. His hand looks like it's burning on the inside, he makes a fist as the burning light fades.

"Sam?" Jamie asks, grabbing unto him.

:Sam? What? What?! Talk to me! What?! Jamie, what's going on?" Dean yells hysterically, grabbing Sam's other shoulder.

Sam shakes his head. "It's okay! It's okay! It's okay. I'm fine. It's done. It's done." Dean and Jamie both look at him and then his arm.

Later in the Impala Dean turns to Sam whose leaning against the seat. Jamie is laid out in the back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live." Sam tells him.

"I buried Benny... but I didn't burn his bones. After he said he'd try to get you out of there, it just didn't seem right. I know you got no use for him, but –"

Sam cuts him off. "No, no, no. You know what? I get it. I do. He's a... He's a little different from what I thought. So, go ahead and leave the door open if you want."

Jamie smiles in her sleep. Dean smirks. "All right, well, let's go check in with Prophet boy and see where he stashed that tablet."

"Kevin? It's us." Dean, Sam, and Jamie enter, it's dark inside. They turn on flashlights. "Kevin!" The siblings look around to see an empty room, devoid of everything, nothing on the desk. Jamie turns on the lights, the walls, counters, everything is bare, the windows are intact, complete with sigils.

"Kevin?" Sam asks.

"He's gone." Jamie mutters, she looks at the walls.

"He took all our stuff, his notes..." Sam draws off.

Dean shakes his head. "I saw this coming. Finally freaked. Little geek made a run for it."

Jamie kneels down beside the window, looking worried. "Yeah, but where?" Sam asks. Jamie turns and looks at them.


	57. 821 The Great Escapist

Jamie sighed heavily as Kevin's video ended. She looked down at Emmy, bouncing her slightly on her knee. Mark looked up at his uncle Sam and then to his father, and his mother, frowning at the anger and sadness radiating off them. "Damnit!" Dean cursed, throwing his arm out and scattering the books unto the floor, before walking off.

"It's okay, Mark." Jamie said softly, looking at her son. The three year old nodded slightly, letting go of Sam's chair and walking over to play with his toys. Sam frowned. "Print off the stuff, Sam." She got up and went out to where Dean was standing.

"We should have brought him here." Dean's eyes were full of tears. "I failed him, Jamie."

"Shh, hey. We couldn't…I didn't see this coming. I'm the one who failed. What good is my psychic thing, if it can't prevent things like this." She adjusted her daughter in her arms.

"Your psychic thing hasn't been great since you gave birth; it's not your fault." Dean said softly, moving her hair away from her face. He bends down and kisses Emmy's forehead. "Hey baby girl. Look at you."

"It's her." Jamie says plainly. "My psychic abilities are passing to her. She's just getting a taste of them now." Dean brushed his fingers through his daughter's hair. "Eventually she'll get them all. I hope." Dean sighed, planting another kiss the baby. "It's going to be okay, Dean. Whatever the cost, it will be okay."

Dean took out his phone. "I'm gonna call Garth." He said shortly. Jamie nodded.

"Guys!" Sam called from the next room. "Jamie, come take a look at this." Jamie handed her daughter to her brother and hurried back over to Sam. Kevin's notes begin coming out of the printer. Sam hands her a page and she scans over it. "Can you read it?"

Jamie squints at the page, going crosseyed as she tries to read. After a moment she sits down and drops the page. "A little bit, but it's nothing helpful. Nothing we don't know or haven't been told by Kevin." She shakes her head, and puts her face in her hands.

Dean walks over talking on the phone. "Yeah, I know you haven't seen him, Keel, nobody has. Alright, well, if you talk to Garth, well, just have him call in. Yeah." He hangs up, looking angry and defeated. He bounces Emmy on his hip.

Sam frowns, looking up. "Garth still MIA?" He takes some more papers out of the printer.

"Yeah." He goes over to where Mark is on the floor, playing with his toys. Or well, making his toys levitate and fly around his head. Dean raises an eyebrow as he watches this, and then gets Emmy's bouncy chair. "Here honey. Play with your brother." He whispers, his tone softer as he straps her into the chair and hands her a soft duckie. Sam and Jamie watch the scene with sentimental looks. Dean whirls around. "Shut up." He points at Sam, going back over to them.

Sam smirks. "Well…Jamie can't read it." He gestures to their sister. Jamie looks up annoyed, and pulls more of the papers towards her.

"Course not." Dean scoffs.

On cue she rolls her eyes. "I'm not a prophet like Chuck and Kevin were. I co-exist with the other prophets. I'm the voice of the end of days, the one who goes before to ensure the Word doesn't pass away even as Earth and Heaven pass away. The other prophets tell me what to say."

"Okay. We know that. I'm sorry Jamie." Sam grabs her hand and she nods. "Well how about the other prophets in line? I mean if Kevin is, uh... is dead, then won't one of them be activated?"

Jamie closes her eyes. After a moment she shakes her head. "I can't sense one if there is. Dean, any leads?"

"Nothing, no, not a peep." He shakes his head, anger returning. "Here we are. No lead, no tablet, squat."

"Well, I mean, we got all this." Sam picks up a stack of notes.

Dean hangs his head. "We should've moved him here."

The twins share a look and then return to looking through the pages. After awhile Jamie gets up. She rubs Dean's shoulder as she passes by, heading into the kitchen to cook.

It's been her refuge of late. Cooking. Odd as it is, the diminutive, simple task of preparing food for her brothers and her children has somehow made the last few months bearable. She chuckles at the irony of it, Jace Winchester, the vampire slayer, the Prophetess Jamie Winchester reduced to a housewife. But it's not as though she has a choice. She haven't been doing much hunting lately. She can't, really. When it was just Mark it was easy, strap him to her back and slay monsters. But Mark isn't old enough to hold a sawed off, and Dean is overprotective of his daughter. Charlie had the worst timing ever, showing up while she was away checking on Krissy and her friends.

"Hmm. There it is again, every time." She hears Sam say in the other room. Wiping down her hands she walks back towards the room and leans against the wall. Sam is showing Dean one of the pages. "This symbol? I know it. Now, Kevin has it down as, as sort of like a signature, for the Scribe of God. It appears every time Metatron makes one of his, uh, like, editor's notes."

Dean looks less than impressed. "Okay...?" Jamie however urges Sam to continue.

"But I think I've seen it before. I mean, it was a long time ago, it was one of my, uh, humanities courses at Stanford."

Now Dean is completely confused. "They taught Word of God at Stanford?"

Sam scoffs, shaking his head. "No, uh, it was an overview of Native American art — I think it's a petroglyph." He goes over to the book shelf.

"A petro-what-now?"

"A petroglyph. A Native American style of writing. Like the hieroglyphs of Egypt." Jamie explains, walking into the room. She picks up Mark on her way over to the table and holds him on her hip as she grabs the page from Dean.

"Mama, hungry." Mark whimpers softly, his belly growling. Jamie kisses his forehead as she looks down at the page.

"I recognize this too. It's um…" She sighs, closing her eyes as she tries to remember. "God I should have stayed awake in Native American history."

"You took Native American history at Mercyhurst?"

Jamie nods. "Yeah sophomore year, right after European history, and before US history." She says without looking up.

Dean shakes his head. "You two." He grumbles as he sits back down.

"Look under Midwestern tribes, uh Utah, Colorado, something like that." She says to Sam taking Mark into the kitchen to feed him.

When she comes back Sam slams a book onto the table in front of Dean and points to the symbol. "This one belonged to a tiny tribe in Colorado, more of a— a clan, really. It says here they held on to their scrap of mountains when all the other tribes fell to the white men. So this glyph was a territorial marker — closest translation: "messenger of God."

"Messenger of God." Jamie says, setting Mark down beside Emmy.

"Messenger of God." Sam echoes, and then looks at Dean. "Dean, we have to go there!"

Dean looks at his siblings like they're insant. "On that hunch? You can barely function."

Sam scoffs. "I'm only gonna get worse. I mean, until we get back to the real job, until we find the third trial — we're out of prophets! We're not gonna figure out what Kevin couldn't! I'd say we go to this messenger of God who wrote it in the first place!"

"And you think this Metatron is hiding out in the mountains with a bunch of Indians."

"Dean…"

"Yeah! Yeah, I do." Sam pauses. "You're not— you're not really supposed to say Indians, it's... We should go." Sam walks off.

"You're delirious." Dean mutters. He looks at Jamie. "He's delirious, right?"

Jamie snickers. "Go, Dean."

"But…but you made pie, right?"

"I'll wrap it up for you. Say goodbye to your kids and get going."

"Alright, yeah just keep an eye on Sam." Jamie says into her phone, holding it between her ear and shoulder as she tucks Emmy into her crib, wrapping her purple blanket around her. Mark is hanging unto her leg, dressed in his red and blue footie Spiderman pajamas and holding his teddy bear. "Yeah, he's right here." She hands the phone to Mark, who takes it gleefully and hurries into his own room to talk to his Daddy before he has to go to sleep. Jamie smiles sadly as she watches him, and then turns her attention back to Emmy. "Hey baby girl. It's bedtime, okay? Go to sleep." She leans in to kiss her forehead and Emmy reaches up and touches her face.

"You have to stop." Jamie gasps outloud as she's thrown into a vision. Images whirl around her. Naomi's angels killing the occupants of a restaurant. "You have to stop." A waitress with her eyes burned out. Naomi snapping her neck. Castiel, hurt and bloody. And then Crowley.

"Castiel!" Jamie screams, coming out of the vision. Emmy starts to cry, and Jamie holds her stomach, gasping for breath. Emmy continues to cry and her mother scoops her into her arms, holding her close.

"Mommy?" Mark stands in the doorway looking scared. Jamie turns to her son and gestures for him to come to her. She holds him close as well.

"Baby, there's something Mommy has to do." She whispers to him, kissing his forehead as she tries to calm her daughter.

Jamie is surrounded by lit candles on the cleared concrete floor. She's holding a book in her hands as she kneels in the center of the candles. Mark is standing off to the side, clutching his teddy bear. "Remember Mark, if something happens to me, you hit the button on my phone and you call Daddy and tell him to come home. Can you do that?" The little boy nods. Jamie gives him a faint smile and then turns back to the book.

"Ostende mihi angelus Castiel!" She chants. Her eyes glow white. "Ostende mihi angelus Castiel!"

Jamie appears in Crowley's office. Ion turns around and sees her as does Castiel. "Prophetess." He sneers.

"Ion." She hisses. "I should have known." She recognizes him from her time as an angel. He was one of their messangers when she and Castiel lead the rebellion against Raphael in heaven. He goes for her but she squints her eyes and he is thrown backwards against the wall. "Cas." She kneels down beside him.

"Jamie, you should not be here." He tells her.

"Shut up. Do you have any idea what you've done to my brother? He's worried sick." She takes off her black collared shirt and starts to push it into his stomach, but Cas stops her.

"Wait. There's a bullet inside. Crowley made it from an angel blade."

"Why didn't we think of that?" She asks, and then gestures with her finger. The bullet flies into her hand. Ion appears behind her and grabs her by the throat.

"No! Let her go, Ion." Cas yells.

"No. Crowley will kill me if I let Jamie Winchester escape." He squeezes her throat, choking her. "You soldiers, down in the garrison, at least they let you believe the lie. Upstairs, working for Naomi, working in intelligence, we had no option but to live in the dirt. She never reset me completely. I always knew too much, I had to— I had to do my job."

"You know what your problem is, Ion?" Jamie hisses, forcing his grip on her throat loose. "You don't know when to shut up." She throws him back and then uses her telekinesis to shove the bullet into his eye. He screams, erupting in white light. Neither Cas nor Jamie turns from it.

Cas gets up painfully. "Are you hurt?" He asks. Jamie shakes her head. "Crowley has the angel tablet."

"Don't worry about that right now. You have to find my brothers." She tells him, and then disappears. Back in the bunker her eyes return to normal and she blinks, the candles blowing out. Mark walks over to her. "Mark. Hey." She picks him up and hugs him. "I'm okay, alright? Let's get you to bed." He nods, wrapping his arms around her neck.


	58. 822 Clip Show

A/n: I've explained before that Mark isn't a Nephilim because Jamie is a vessel of Michael, and vessels are different from ordinary humans because they are meant to house angels. So Mark has grace, and the powers of heaven, but his true form is human, he has no 'greater' angelic form, and more importantly he has a soul. I guess more specifically he has Adam's soul. Secondly, Mark can't be sensed by the angels because of the cloaking sigil infused with Dean's amulet, and Metatron cannot sense Jamie. He can sense her power, so he knows the Voice is on earth, but he can't tie it to her because Cas branded her ribs.

"Jamie! Could use some help!" The blonde hunter's head shoots up from the book she's reading as she watches her oldest brother half-drag half-carry his injured angel into the room, followed by her twin brother, pain and shaking, barely able to walk.

"Ah hell." Jamie is up and at Sam's side before he even registers her presence. She loops his thick arm over her shoulders and takes on most of his weight. "Put him on the table, Dean." She tells her brother, raising her hand in front of her. Instantly the books occupying the large dining table float from the surface and deposit themselves in neat stacks on the floor, out of the way. Dean heaves Cas unto the table. "I'll put Sam to bed."

She drags her 6'4 brother into his darken room at the end of the hall. "Don't need you…" Sam is muttering, but Jamie simply shakes her head and ignores him. She uses her telekinesis to flick on the light and dumps her twin unto his bed. Sam promptly passes out as soon as his body makes contact with the mattress, leaving his twin shaking her head and pulling off his boots. She un-buttons his collared shirt throws it to the floor, frowning at how limp her brother is, and then maneuvers his jeans off. She tucks his legs under the comforter and sits with him a moment before planting a cool kiss on his warm brow and turning off the light.

Back in the main room Dean is cleaning blood from Cas's skin. The angel is completely shirtless, and various medical paraphernalia is scattered on the table. "He isn't healing." Dean says gravely, not looking up from his work.

"His grace is probably damaged. Crowley shot him with an angel bullet and then reached inside his abdomen to grab the damn tablet." Jamie walked over to the table, confirming her suspicion that Cas was indeed unconscious. "Did he pass out on his own or did you knock him out?"

Dean gestured to the used syringe, and she nods. "I'm gonna try to stitch this up, but I only have so many dissolving stitches, the rest is dental floss. Do you think angels get infections? That wound is too deep to disinfect with alcohol."

"Just pack the wound. I'm going to get Mark." Jamie tells him, turning away. They don't like to rely on their son for healing. He's too young and they fear he's harm himself with the effort and focus it requires. The only times have been matters of life and death, and even then Mark did it of his own volition, not by their coaxing. "Mark." She calls softly, flicking on the light to her son's room.

"Mama?" The boys yawns sleepily, sitting up.

"Come with me, Mark." She says, picking the boy up and carrying him out to the main room.

"Daddy." The half angel reaches out to Dean, takes him in his arms. Mark wraps his arms around Dean's neck gleefully, but his smile fades when he senses his father's duress. "Daddy?"

"There's something I need you to do, Mark." The hunter tells his son. "Something important." He carries Mark over to the table and sets him next to Cas. "You remember Castiel, right?"

Mark stares at the shirtless man for a long moment. He has scattered memories of his face. He remembers going to the zoo one autumn afternoon. He remembers the man speaking emotionally with his father in a parking lot after a hunt. He remembers playing with pots and pans and his mother's keys while the man looked on. And he has memories that are not his, rather the product of the psychic connection bred by his grace. The man bleeding and begging with his mother and father in a stark white room. A voice vowing to protect his mother. And strong arms that protected his father, hands that raised him from hell. After a moment Mark nods.

"He's hurt bad, son. Can you help him?" His mother asks, almost timidly. The emotions he feels coming off his father are strong, and he recognizes love, a love different and yet the same as the kind his parents feel for him and for each other. Slowly he nods and reaches forward.

It takes a moment, it's not instantious yet. He's still too young for that. And he can't heal Cas entirely, he can only stop the bleeding. The angel blinks and opens his eyes. "Mark?" He asks, staring curiously at the boy.

"That was very good, son." Dean whisphers, taking the boy from the table and handing him to his mother. "Go back to sleep." The hunter plants a kiss in the boy's hair and then one on his mother's cheek, coaxing both of them to bed. "I'll be there soon, Jamie."

"I can sleep in Mark's bed if you want to…I mean, Cas probably doesn't need to…" There's red in her cheeks now, and there's red growing Dean's as well. She takes the hint and carries their son back to his room.

Dean turns to Cas and Cas stares at Dean with wide sapphire eyes, bluer then ocean seas, and Dean drinks it in. "How are you feeling?" He asks, almost hoarsely.

"I'll heal. It will take time. Mark merely clotted the wound, began the scarification process." Cas replies. Dean nods, turning away. "Dean." The hunter glances behind him. "I'm sorry."

The next morning Jamie and Dean both walk in carrying heavy stacks of files. Sam is sitting at the table and he watches them tiredly. "Please tell me that's everything."

Dean looks up with a grin. "Yeah." He chuckles humorlessly. "No, not even close. You see, the Men of Letters kept files on every demonic possession for the last 300 years." He picks up a file and looks through it. "I mean, we've got Borden, Lizzy, all the way to Crane, Ichabod."

"The headless horseman was a demon?" Jamie looks impressed. "Hmm."

"Aah." Sam says in feigned amusment.

Dean frowns. "How you feeling?"

Sam looks at him, and then at their sister. Jamie frowns. Sam looks back to their brother. "Honestly, um... My, uh, my whole body hurts. I feel nauseous and like I'm starving at the same time, and everything smells like rotting meat."

Jamie crosses her arms looking worried. "Rotting meat? Like charred or left in the sun too long?"

"Left in the sun too long. Why?"

"Just wanna make sure your brain isn't cooking." She tells him. He frowns.

Dean smiles to himself. "I've had that hangover. Jaeger, man." He looks towards Sam. "Maybe you should, uh, take a break, get some air."

Sam shakes her head. "Dean, the only thing that's gonna make me feel better is finishing this."

"All right. Well, I'll go get you some grub, keep your strength up." Dean leaves.

Castiel enters the room. "Morning." Jamie glances over at him and then averts her eyes. Sam glances up briefly and then goes back to the file he's reading. Cas frowns and looks around. "I like this bunker. It's orderly."

"Oh, give us a few months. Dean wants to get a ping-pong table."

Cas tries to sound amused. "I've heard of that. It's a game, right?" He steps down and goes to grab a chair, but as he does he groans. Jamie's head shoots up and she moves to his side.

"Are you okay?" Sam asks, slightly worried.

Jamie puts her hand against Cas's abdomen, her fingers ghosting the position of his wound. He gives her a reassuring smile. "My wound isn't healing as quickly as I'd hoped... But I am getting better." Jamie doesn't believe him but she moves away. Cas turns his attention back to Sam. "And you're getting worse."

"Well, two trials down, one to go."

"And the final test, do you - you know what it is?"

"I have to cure a Demon."

Cas chuckles. "Of what?"

Jamie picks up another file. "That's what we're trying to figure out."

Dean comes back in with a tray. There's three peanut butter cups, some jerky and an open beer on the plate. "Soup's on. There we go." He sets the tray in front of Sam and sips the open beer. "I think this is, uh... Oh, it's still good."

Jamie stares at the tray in disgust. Sam looks like he wants to vomit. "A half-drunk beer, jerky, and three peanut-butter cups?" he glances accusingly at Dean.

"Yeah, we're - we're running a little low." Jamie glares at him. "I'll make a run." He says defensively.

Cas gets up immediately. "Dean, I can go with you." When Dean doesn't acknowledge him Cas tries again. "Dean. I'm sorry."

"For what?" he shoots back.

"For everything."

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Everything? Like, uh... Like ignoring us?"

"Yes." He replies honestly.

"Or like bolting off with the Angel Tablet, then losing it 'cause you didn't trust me? You didn't trust _me._"

"Yes."

Sam and Jamie share a look, but neither say anything, both realizing that Cas has hurt Dean deeply, and he needs time to forgive. And forgiveness is not something Dean Winchester doles out lightly. ""Yeah. Nah, that's not gonna cut it. Not this time. So you can take your little apology and you cram it up your ass."

Cas sighs, resigned. "Dean, I thought I was doing the right thing."

The hunter nods. "Yeah, you always do."

Sam stares at Jamie. It takes him a moment he is able to tap their telepathic link. "_Okay…time to break them up."_

"_Yeah, ya think?"_Jamie moves to step between her brother and his angel. "Okay. Um. I'm gonna go get real food because Mark can't eat any of that. Cas, come help me." She says forcefully.

Sam clears his throat to get Dean's attention. "Hey, uh, do we have a room 7B?"

"Goddamnit, Cas." Jamie whirls around once Dean and Sam are gone. Cas looks up at her. Those damn sapphires eyes. Her son resembles her brother in every except those damn eyes. She has stared into those eyes for three long years. She frowns. "It's been a long time." She says quietly. He nods, taking a step forward. She doesn't move. He reaches her, and they stare into each other's eyes until he leans forward and she grips the back of his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. He grabs for her shoulders, deepening the kiss. She kisses back, sloppy, needy, the response he'd get from Dean if the hunter would ever get over himself. She knows this. His kiss is soft, but firm, and she can also taste AJ on his lips. This is way it was, years ago, and she can't help but realize it's been years, long years. They've taken their toll. The first time she kissed him she was young, alert, and grieving. Now she's a mother, and her innocence is long gone. He was an obedient angel then, and now she isn't sure what he is.

"Jamie." The way he whispers her name causes goosebumps to form on her pale skin. She breaks the kiss, glancing up into his eyes again. The question in his eyes gives her pause. She considers it for a moment and then pulls away, heading in the direction of her room. After a moment he follows her.

She checks on her kids first. Emmy is asleep in her crib. Mark is awake, but he's playing quietly on the floor by his bed, his toys float in the air around his head, until he chooses the truck he intends to race on the old track that resembles his father's old toy. Jamie quietly closes his door and then opens the door to her room. Dean's room.

Cas is on her heels, his breath is hot on her neck. He pulls the door closed behind her. She turns to him and then quickly strips of her clothes. His sapphire eyes drink in her form as every inch of her pale skin is revealed to him. But it doesn't last. She mutters a few choice words and her appearance is transformed. She takes Dean's form and he relishes in the facade. An illicit appearance for an illicit affair.

He strips his clothes with angel speed and grabs her roughly. The spell bleeds every inch of Dean's skin unto her form, and he worships the idol with tongue and teeth, holding her firmly against Dean's sheets. Their affair is short lived. Nothing has changed between them. She is not the Winchester he loves, and he is not her long dead lover. The years of grieving have not ended for her, she does not want him, she just wants the feel of skin against her own. The chaste relationship with her brother can only go so far.

He watches her dress with genuine curiosity. As her form becomes her own again he takes in her true appearance, finding it almost as interesting as the desired form she had forsaken. "I've always wondered…" His voice is husky and low. For a second she craves a cigarette. "Why aren't your eyes green?"

"My mother had blue eyes." She answers quietly, pulling her hair into a ponytail and grabbing her jacket.

"I see. Is it…common for one sibling to have different color from another?"

"It just the way genes work, Cas." She's lacing her boots.

"But you and Sam…"

"Are fraternal twins, two separate sets of genes. Besides Dean and Sam don't exactly look alike."

"No. Sam seems to look more like your father, while Dean resembles your mother."

"Sam is actually a good mix of Mom and Dad, but whatever." The sounds of Dean and Sam coming down the hall cause them to turn away. "Hey guys." Jamie says softly, turning to look at them.

"Hey, we found something." Sam holds up an old roll of projector film. Jamie studies it curiously.

Sam finishes setting up the projector just as Jamie comes in with a bowl of popcorn and Mark on her hip. Dean is sitting at the table holding Emmy on his lap. Cas is seated across from him. Jamie sits down opposite of Sam. The projector starts clicking. A young priest comes into view.

"_Simon, we're filming_." Comes a female voice.

"_Um, hello, world." _The priest says nervously.

"_So this new ritual__we're going to see,__ this new type of exorcism,__h-how does it work?"_

"_I don't know._ _It's my first time."_

The camera turns to focus on the source of the female voice. Jamie raises an eyebrow. "Wait, is that Abaddon?"

"_Aah! Aah!"_ A different woman screams.

Dean glances towards his sister. "It's not killy enough. It's got to be the, uh, the chick she possessed."

There's screaming and grunting coming from a woman chained to the floor. Obviously possessed. "_Hurry._ _We must do it now." _A new priest comes on screen.

"_Dead! They're all dead! Everyone you ever loved..."_ The possess woman hisses.

"Hey, those chains look exactly like the ones in our dungeon." Sam exclaims.

"In your _what?" _Cas asks.

Dean scoffs. "Demon on a leash - cool."

The screaming, grunting continue from the woman. "_Aah! Aah! Aah!"_

"_Exorcizamus te,_ _omnis immundus spiritus...hanc animam redintegra..._" The priest cuts his own hand. "_Lustra! Lustra!_" He grabs the woman, putting his cut hand over her mouth and holding her down.

Suddenly her chest cracks open and she falls dead. "_She's dead." _The priest coughs, the camera shakes. "_Where's the demon?"_

"_Stop filming."_

"_What happened?"_

"_Will you just stop?!"_

The film strip ends. Dean looks down at her daughter and then to his brother. "Well, that was weird... With three exclamation points."

Sam shakes his head. "That wasn't a normal exorcism. They changed the words."

Jamie gets up, holding Mark. "Hanc animam redintegra means fix this soul."

"I believe "lustra" is Latin for wash or cleanse." Castiel looks to them.

Jamie shakes her head. "No, purgo is the root for cleanse. Lustra is closer to…haunts. Fix what haunts this soul or fix the soul that haunts."

Dean rolls his eyes as he gets up and hands Emmy to Jamie. "Oh, yeah, 'cause that was the most freaky thing was the vocabulary. What about the bloody high five or the chest burster? Anything else on the film, like director's commentary, sequel, maybe?"

Sam is looking through a file. "Yeah, listen to this. The older priest, Max Thompson, bit the dust in '58, but the younger one is still alive and still in St. Louis."

Dean considers. "Think this kind of weird is worth the drive?"

"Dean, everything in those folders - the possessions, the deals, all of it - we've seen that before, but that - That was all new. Yeah, it's worth the drive." Sam tells him.

"It's definitely worth the drive." Jamie agrees. "Go check it out."

"All right. Let's roll." Castiel stands up, but Dean puts his hand up. "Not you."

"Sam is more damaged than I am." Cas protests.

Dean shakes his head, not wanting to argue. "Yeah, well, you know, even banged up, Sammy comes through."

"Dean, I just want to help." He begs.

"We don't need your help. Just stay here and - and get better." Dean walks away. Sam glances at Cas and sighs. Jamie follows after Dean with their kids.

Outside Dean buckles Emmy into her carseat on one side while Jamie buckles in Mark on the other side. "Dean, Crowley is plotting something. You and Sam have to be careful." Jamie tells him.

"Yeah. Well that's why we have to get out the kids out of here." Dean puts a heavily packed bag in the back of Jamie's SUV. "Just like we planned."

Jamie nods. "I'll get the kids up to North Dakota, and then I'll be back to help with the last trial." Dean hugs her and then turns away.


	59. 823 Sacrifice

The walls were gray. Not a dark off white that might be reflected gray in the right low light, but gray. Actual gray. The color of the sky before a soaking rain. Her son noticed the color. Even as he played on the sky blue carpet, his toys floating in the air around him, he noticed. And Jamie's heart sank. She glanced down at her daughter and kissed her forehead. The little girl was starting to smile now. And she broke out into a toothless grin at the feeling of her mother's lips on her forehead, buried in her soft but thick auburn hair.

Across from Jamie sat a tall, dark haired man with tired blue eyes and the stoic expression of an aged hunter, although he was only 34 he looked older. He had a scar on one cheek and his hands were rough and calloused. Beside him sat a slight, serious, black haired woman, with olive skin and the dark eyes of a Cherokee maiden. They were Aaron and Robyn Jefferson; once upon a time they had been two of Jamie's closest friends. She was Robyn's maid of honor in the small on-the-fly-between-jobs wedding they had about ten years ago. More than ten, Jamie corrected herself, because she hadn't yet turned twenty at the time. Aaron was AJ's older brother, and he still to this day blamed her for AJ's death, not that he wasn't right to do so.

They had their moments in the last seven years, the apocalypse for one, when he would put aside the blame for awhile, for a job or two, because he may be eternally pissed at Jamie for his brother's death, but he wasn't going to disregard the fact that he had been the one to name her the Vampire Slayer, that he was the one who first recognized her natural ability an exorcist. He saw it in her when she first started riding with them. Like he saw the potential in the raw orphan that had been Dan Rivers, AJ's best friend and the fourth member of their company, another death that was on her hands. She hated the way Aaron looked at her now, though she deserved it, but she saw him as her surrogate older brother, and if AJ had lived he would have been.

Robyn was different. She was almost full-blooded Cherokee, and she had visions. Nothing close to what Jamie could do, but it was the hereditary gift of her people, it marked her as a future leader of the tribe. And she was already fully aware of the supernatural when she met Aaron, it made their bond that much stronger. She told Jamie after AJ died that it wasn't her fault, that none of what happened would ever be her fault. Jamie didn't truly believe her, but at least she wasn't completely thrown out of the group she considered her family.

"How are Aria and Raven?" She didn't often inquire about the two young girls that should have been her nieces. Not that Aaron would tell her about them to begin with. She knew Aria was around 7, having been born not long after AJ died. Raven had to be 4 then, at least. She had only seen them once, when she and Aaron had gotten back early from a hunt and Robyn insisted she stay for dinner, but she remembered that they were both dark haired and beautiful like their mother, although Aria had the famous Jefferson blue eyes. They stood out so perfectly with her otherwise dark coloring, and when Jamie had noticed them she immediately saw AJ in them. She tried to remember if she had been pregnant with Mark yet, since he and Raven were only a year or so apart.

"They're good." Robyn answered with a smile. "They both go to school on the reservation. Raven will be finishing pre-K in another two weeks."

"Is…Is the reservation school good?" Her voice wavered a little. She tried to remain strong through this. But how does one remain strong when giving up their children?

"It's good. They like it. It's run by the Jesuits, so it's really good. Most of the students go to college." It didn't really matter. Jamie's instructions were very specific that her children were to be raised hunters, she knew Dean strongly objected to this, but if they failed, if they were before the gates were shut, their children would be in grave danger for different reasons. Mark because he was half angel, and she knew the moment she and Dean were dead Naomi would go looking for the boy. Emmy because she was full blooded Winchester, Dean's biological daughter, Crowley would seek her out just on that alone, to ensure that she could never reap revenge for her parents, nevermind the fact that she was born of the prophetess and therefore likely to be in line to inherit that power. They needed to know how to protect themselves. Robyn tried to smile when she saw Jamie's frown. "We'll keep them safe, Jamie. We'll protect them. They'll grow up strong, and we won't let them forget where they came from."

"Jamie." Aaron's voice was low and grave. "Don't think I'm doing this because of you." That stung. It stung a lot. "I'm doing this because AJ would have wanted this. Because Mom would come back from her grave and kick my ass, and so would Dad, if I didn't." Jacki Jefferson, the woman who had been so kind to Jamie, taking her in just after Mark was born, letting her live under the guise of being her daughter to protect her and her newborn son from the Leviathan, had died the summer when Dean was still in purgatory. It had forced Jamie to live on her own again. To stop hunting, really, to protect her son while searching for her brother. It had spelled the beginning of the end for Jamie's hunting career long before Emmy was born. "We'll take care of your kids, but promise me, swear to me, if you don't slam those gates shut you'll die trying. Come back with the job done, or don't come back at all."

"Aaron-" Robyn started to say.

"No." Jamie shook her head. "He's right. I swear to you, Dean, Sam, and I will shut the gates, or we will die trying." She nodded, though tears started to come. She had to leave. She had to get back to help Dean and Sam. They had a demon to cleanse and the gates of hell to shut. Her one consolation was that Crowley was targeting the people her brothers saved, not the ones she had saved. In her vision Crowley was using the books Chuck had written, and she was but a reoccurring character in those. Her own hunts were never apart of those books. She looked down at her daughter and kissed her forehead again. "I love you so much Mary Emilia. So much. You are my little sunshine. My Emmy, my emerald. Your daddy calls you the light of his life. Don't forget." Carefully she put her daughter into Robyn's arms. "She's still breast fed, and um, I brought a bunch of milk but if it runs out, obviously-"

"Oh! Don't worry, my sister just had a baby a few months ago, she's still breast feeding." Robyn gave her a reassuring smile. She glanced down at the baby in her arms and then at Jamie. "She looks just-"

"Like me but with Dean's eyes. Yeah. I know." Jamie finished, trying to smile even as tears came. "She…Dean and I agreed on the name Victoria Marie Williams. Tori, heh." She wiped her eyes.

"It's pretty. Tori. I like it." Robyn gave her a one armed hug.

Jamie pulled back and called her son over. "Marcus." The name felt weird but she never called him that, not since the moment of his birth. She might never get the chance again. "Mark. Hey." She bent down to hug her son. "Hey, remember what I told you. Be good, listen to Uncle Aaron and Aunt Robyn. Do what they tell you, Marcus Robert John Winchester."

"Eat veggies. Watch Emmy." The toddler said, though he began to cry. His telepathic powers were already starting to develop and he knew that his mother and father were leaving, and might not come back. "And my names Caleb Willums." He added.

"Caleb Michael Williams." She said softly, kissing him and pulling him into another hug. "I love you so much, Mark. Don't ever, ever forget it. You have to take care of your sister, and make sure she knows that Daddy and I loved her too. She is your responsibility now." It hurt her to know that she was echoing her father's instructions to Dean. That she was repeating the cycle with her own children. That her young son was going to raise his sister the way Dean had raised her and Sam.

"I love you, Mommy." He hugged her back and she got up, handing him over to Aaron.

Jamie took off her charm bracelet and put it in Mark's hands. "This has been in our family for a long time. Your great-grandparents Deanna and Samuel, they gave it to my mom, your grandma. And then your grandpa gave it to me. I want you to give it to your sister when she's big enough. Will you do that?" Mark nodded. Jamie took a watch out of her pocket and put it on Mark's wrist.

"Daddy's." He said softly, and then turned sapphire eyes to his mother.

"Daddy and I want you to have this. It has a compass inside here, so that you'll never be lost." She planted yet another kiss on his forehead. She took a shaking breath and stepped back. Aaron tried to smile, so did Robyn, but Jamie shook her head and hurried from the room.

"Are the kids safe?" Dean asked, opening the door to the bunker for her.

"Safe as they'll ever be." She told him. "I still don't think sending them to Aaron was a good idea."

"Crowley is focusing on the people me and Sam saved right? And he's keeping his demons locked up? Well to find our kids he has to one, make the connection that you would think of AJ, two know that AJ's real name is Andrew Jefferson, three know that AJ has a brother named Aaron, four know that Aaron is married to Robyn, five know that Robyn is native American and her surname is Red Sky, and six that they use Red Sky as their surname."

Jamie sighed and nodded. "Unless he has a confidant that knows a helluva lot about me from…shit!"

"What?"

"Aaron and I hunted together the year Lucifer was free. We just did a few small jobs in the south."

"Did you use an alias?"

"Yeah, Jace ."

Dean sighed. "Damnit."

"If I could find Cas, then maybe…"

"No. I'll handle this." Dean said, walking away.

Jamie frowned deeply. She puts her hand down on the table and suddenly she sees Jody in the bathroom. She's laying on the floor choking, her purse spilled out beside her. "Dean!" She yells coming out of the vision and running after him.

"You have less than one minute before a very dear, attractive, and slightly tipsy friend of yours snuffs it."

Dean, Sam, and Jamie are gathered around Dean's cellphone. Jamie has her arms crossed and looks worried. Sam is pain and shaking slightly. Dean just looks pissed. He slams his hand down on the table so hard the cellphone shakes. "Call it off, Crowley."

"Because?"

Dean looks towards Sam and Jamie. "Because it's over, you son of a bitch. We want to deal."

"30 seconds."

"We stop the trials, and you stop the killing." He explains.

"I want the Demon Tablet - the whole Demon Tablet."

Jamie looks toward Sam for a moment. He swallows thickly, watching Dean who pauses for a moment. "Fine, but then the Angel Tablet comes to us."

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that you're a douche bag and no douche bag should have that much power. Deal or not?" Jamie grabs Sam's hand as her brother rages off the cuff.

"First, I need to hear two little words." Dean, Sam, and Jamie all hold their breaths. "I surrender."

Dean rolls his eyes and looks off to Sam and Jamie without saying anything.

The Impala drives along a paved road and parks behind Kevin's car. The is digging and he looks behind him to where the cars are parked to see the Winchester siblings have arrived. HHe then goes back to digging. The sign over the hole has a picture of a devil and it has the words "Dave & Paul's Chili Pot Restaurant" written on it. Kevin comes out of the shallow hole holding a bag and he is taking the Demon tablet out of it.

Dean eyes the sign and then glances at Kevin. "You hid the Demon Tablet underneath the devil? Seriously?"

Kevin shrugs. "What? I was delirious." He places both pieces of the broken tablet together and they rebind into a complete tablet. He then hands it to Sam. "You sure this is gonna work?"

Sam looks at Jamie, who frowns when she glances at him. "What choice do we have?" Sam replies honestly.

Dean takes out the key box that holds the key for the Men of Letters bunker that and removes the key from the box. He hands it to Kevin as he speaks. "All right, listen, this is a secret lair. You understand me? No keggers."

"I don't have any friends." Kevin replies, almost too quickly.

"Yeah, well, just lay low. Who knows? You'll be a mathlete again before you know it." Dean turns away, and Sam and Jamie begin to follow him back to the car.

Kevin calls out to them. "You guys? You're doing the right thing."

The siblings look at each other and turn and walk back to their car.

Later the Impala pulls into Bobby's junk yard and stops near one of the old buildings on the lot. They get out and walk the lot. Jamie stops short seeing Bobby's old car. Dean and Sam stop behind her. The car which is overrun with weeds, dirt, rust and has plants growing through the engine. As they stare at their surrogate uncle's car a voice catches their attention.

"Hello, boys. Jamie." They turn to their right and see Crowley standing about 50 feet away from them. Dean looks around for anyone/anything else and he and Sam and Jamie walk towards him. "What's that old expression? Success has many fathers. Failure is a Winchester." He laughs. "Where's the stone?"

Dean shrugs. "You show us yours, and we'll show you ours."

Crowley smirks. "Really, Dean? I'm trying to conduct a professional negotiation here, and you want to talk dangly bits?" He gets serious again. "The stone." Sam starts to open his jacket and Crowley holds out his hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slowly."

Sam slowly pulls the tablet from inside his jacket. He hands it over to Jamie who clutches it to her chest.

"There she is." Crowley shows that he brought the Angel Tablet by opening his jacket and showing that it's inside his jacket pocket.

"And the contract?" Dean asks. Crowley pulls a scroll that he throws out to unroll in the remaining 10 feet between him and the brothers. Dean looks down at the enormous contract. "Yeah, I'm sure there's no hidden agendas in there." He says, pointedly gesturing to the contract.

Crowley shrugs. "The highlights -we swap tablets, you stand down from the trials forever."

"You stop killing everyone we've ever saved." Sam shoots back.

"Agreed." Crowley tells him.

"And you stop hunting for my kids." Jamie sneers.

Crowley considers for a moment. "Hmm. I suppose that can be arranged." Dean reaches in his jacket and pulls out a pen to sign the contract with. He uncaps the pen. Crowley shakes his fingers. "Unh-unh-unh." He yanks back the contract a couple of feet. "Nice try, squirrel. Moose is doing these trials. Moose signs."

"No, no. He's not signing anything until I read the fine print." Sam yanks the pen from Dean. Jamie visibly tenses.

"I can read it." Sam hisses.

Dean shakes his head, indicating he isn't going to put up with Sam's stubbornness. "Hey, you wanted me here. I'm here. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him screw us even more."

"What's this? Trouble in paradise, boys?" Crowley chuckles.

Jamie turns around and shoves Sam and Dean apart. "Sam, let him read it." She gives her twin a pointedly stare. Sam sighs and backs down. Jamie then turns to Dean with the same look. "Calm down." She whisphers. Dean moves to grab the contract, Jamie stands defensively in front of Sam.

Crowley stares at Dean as he reads. "You're gonna move your lips the whole way up here, aren't you? You know why I always defeat you? It's your humanity. It's a built-in handicap. You always put emotion ahead of good, old-fashioned common sense. Let's have the big galoot sign it now, shall we?" As he speaks Dean moves closer and closer to him until there is no more than a foot between them and Sam and Jamie walk up as Crowley finishes speaking. Both of them nod at Dean, who very quickly slaps a pair of cuffs onto Crowley's right wrist. "Is this a joke? You realize all I have to do is..." He snaps his fingers as nothing happens and Dean smiles.

"Unh-unh-unh. Demonic handcuffs, jackass." He indicates the devil's trap engraved on the cuff. "No flicking, no teleporting, no smoking out - oh, and... no deal. Which pretty much means that you're our bitch."

"Fine. You want to play chain gang? Let's." Crowley reaches over and punches Dean in the face. Jamie moves forward but Sam grabs her shoulder and holds her back. Dean grunts. "You saddled yourself to the wrong bull, mate."

Dean punches Crowley in the face and then takes the Angel tablet out of his pocket and hands it to Sam who is standing behind him. Sam and Jamie put both tablets into their jackets. Crowley grunts.

Dean grabs a hold of the lapels on Crowley's jacket and shakes him. He lets go as he continues talking. "I can do this all day, 'cause you know what? Damn, it feels good! But sooner or later, you're gonna have to face it - you're ours. Which means that your demon ass is going to be a mortal ass pretty damn quick."

Crowley glances over Dean to Sam and Jamie. "What's he mouthing on about?"

"You made a mistake coming here. Should have sent one of your little minions." Jamie tells him, with a dark look.

Sam puts his hand on her shoulder. "You're the third trial, Crowley."

Crowley looks a little worried as he takes this in.

The Impala drives up a desolate wet dirt road next to a waterway and it pulls to a stop in front of a small abandoned church. Jamie kills the engine and she and Sam get out. Dean opens the passenger door and Sam helps him drag Crowley out. Jamie leads the way into the Church while the boys follow with the demon.

Inside the church Jamie and Sam chain Crowley to a chair while Dean sprays a devils trap around him. He shakes his chains a little to show his discomfort for being in them. Chains clank, rattle. "You really think this is gonna hold me, that you're gonna cure me or whatever it is?"

Jamie nods to Sam and he goes outside. She follows him. Dean, still holding the spray can, gives it one last shake then tosses it across the room and it hits a wall in the corner of the very small church. He smirks at Crowley and walks away.

Outside thunder rumbles. Dean walks over to where his siblings are at the back of the car with the trunk open. Jamie is helping Sam prepare for the next trial, she's filling a small canvas bag with salt. Sam is pouring holy oil into a jar.

"He's primed." Dean tells them, and then turns to Sam. "How you feeling?"

Sam looks up. "Honestly, for the first time in a long time, it feels like we're gonna win. I'm good." He chuckles.

Dean smiles and then nods to Jamie. "Jamie, what's the psychic prediction?"

Jamie blinks and then looks up. "So far so good."

Dean nods. "All right, well, no dancing in the end zone until we're finished. What's the good father's playbook say now?"

Jamie glances at the book. "We got consecrated ground. It's all up to Sammy now."

Sam places a lid on the jar. "I just, uh." He clears his throat. "I slip Crowley one dose of blood every hour for eight hours and seal the deal with a bloody-fist sandwich. That should do it.

Dean considers. "Your blood's supposed to be purified, isn't it? You ever, uh - you ever done the "forgive me, father" before?"

Sam shrugs. "Well, once, when we were kids. Which is why I have no clue what to say now."

"Well, I mean, I could give you suggestions if you want." Dean replies awkwardly.

Jamie sets the bag of salt aside. "Um. Hi. Raised in a convent." She gestures to herself. "Start small, work up to the big stuff."

"O-okay. Like what?"

"Abandoning Jamie, Ruby, killing Lilith, letting Lucifer out, losing your soul, not looking for me when I went to Purgatory." Dean interjects.

Jamie shifts uncomfortably. "Uh. Yeah. Well…"

"Thanks." Frustrated with Dean's comments Sam turns away and continues to fill a bag with needed items for the trial and when he is done he picks up the bag and walks toward the church.

"Or, hey, h-how about what you did to, uh, Penny Markle in the sixth grade? Why don't you lead with that?"

Sam turns to look at Dean. "Well, that was you."

Dean appears to think maybe Sam is right. Jamie elbows him hard in the ribs. "Carry on."

Sam looks at Dean with disdain and then turns and walks into the church. Jamie follows after him. Thunder rumbles.

Once inside the small church, Jamie points towards the confessional. She gives Sam a quick hug as she takes the supplies and goes to set them on the altar. Sam walks into a confessional and kneels as he closes the door behind him.

A few minutes later Jamie and Sam go back outside, but stop short seeing Castiel talking with Dean. "But I'm the only one in who can. I can't fail, Dean, not on this one. I need your help." Cas is saying.

As Dean speaks Jamie and Sam walk over to him. "Look, Cass, that's all well and good, okay, but you're asking me to leave Sam and Jamie, and we've got Crowley in there tied and trussed. Now, if anybody needs a chaperone while doing the heavy lifting, it's Sam."

"Well isn't that what Jamie's for?" Cas asks ignorantly.

"Jamie-" Dean starts to say.

"Jamie's what?" She asks, moving her hair back from her face and crossing her arms.

"You should go." Sam adds. Dean realizes his siblings were standing behind him and rolls his eyes then turns around to look at them. "Seriously." He adds.

"Oh, what, and leave you two here with the King of Hell? Come on."

"We got this." Jamie tells him firmly.

Sam nods. "And if you guys can lock the angels up, too...That's a good day." Thunder crashes.

Dean sighs. "Look, I... I'm down with sending the angels back to Heaven, just 'cause they're dicks. But the Demons? This is on us. Start the injections now. If I'm not back in eight hours, finish it, no questions, no hesitation. Jamie, you watch him, and if there are any complications-"

"It will be fine, Dean. We're going to do this." She tells him. "Go."

"Yeah." Sam agrees.

Castiel stares at Sam as Dean gathers items from the trunk. Once Dean is ready Castiel places a hand on his shoulder and the siblings hear rustling as they disappear. Sam sighs and looks at his sister. Jamie frowns.

Back inside the church Sam readies the syringe. Jamie is standing beside him. "Do you want me to help with that?" She asks softly. Sam looks up at her and moves the syringe into her grip. They stare a look and Jamie holds his arm, piercing his vein and drawing forth blood. Sam groans in pain, but Jamie holds his arm steady.

Behind them Crowley smirks. "You really think injecting me with human blood is gonna make me human?" Jamie withdraws the needle and Sam takes the syringe. "Did you read that on the back of a cereal box?" As he speaks Sam walks towards him and injects him in the neck with his blood.

Crowley groans in pain and then chuckles. "You're miles out of your league, moose. See you in an hour."

Sam walks away from Crowley and towards the altar table where Jamie is still standing. As he gets closer to the table he holds out his arms in front of him. His arms begin to have that same orange glow from before and he winces in pain and exhales sharply. Jamie grabs him around the shoulders and holds unto him, putting her cheek against his back and squeezing her eyes shut.

An hour passes. Jamie is staring at a cross on the wall that has only the hands and feet left on it. She touches the nailed feet, and reaches up to grab the saint's medal around her neck. She moves her hand away revealing that it depicts St. Michael the Archangel.

At the altar Sam looks at his watch he then turns around from the alter table to face Crowley and walks toward him with the needle filled with his purified blood. Jamie turns around as he sticks Crowley in the neck with it. "Sam!" Jamie rushes forward. As Sam turns to look at her Crowley uses the opportunity to bite a big chunk of flesh from Sam's arm. Sam grunts in pain.

"What the hell, Crowley?" Sam punches Crowley hard across the face. "Biting?! Seriously?!"

Jamie grabs Sam's injured arm and looks at it. "Come on." She leads Sam away towards the door of the church. The door opens and closes as they walk outside.

It's night. Jamie is sitting on the floor with her eyes closed. Sam is leaning against the altar watching Crowley. The demon chuckles. "How we doing, Moose? Ain't it about time for the next love injection?" He begins to sing. "Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange…"As he sings Sam turns away from him and faces the alter table and as he does his arms begin to glow the orange glow again. Sam inhales sharply. Jamie opens her eyes. "ch-ch-changes just gonna have to be a different man time may change me, but I can't trace –"

Jamie gets up and goes over to Sam. The church begins to rumble and shake and the twins turn quickly to face Crowley who seems to not be alarmed by what's happening. The floor boards begin to crack until they reach the demon trap. "Sam, the trap!" Jamie yells in warning. "The crack penetrates the trap." Jamie rushes to get the spray can.

"Did you really think you could kidnap the King of Hell and no one was gonna notice, numb nuts?!" Crowley yells at Sam.

The church doors burst open as Abaddon enters. Jamie looks up and then looks towards Sam.

"Hello, boys. Jamie."

"That's my line. Abaddon? They told me you were dead." Crowley says in surprise.

Jamie is carefully and slowly moving towards Sam.

"So not."

"And the rest of the cavalry?"

"Oh, no, it's just little, old, unkillable me."

Sam reaches behind him for his gun that's sitting on the alter table but Abaddon uses her telekinetic power to toss Sam across the room in the church wall. He drops the gun to the floor. Crowley looks on and smiles. Jamie gestures for the gun and points it at Abaddon. She pulls the trigger at the same time Abaddon throws her into the wall. She slams into it headfirst and is knocked unconscious. The gun fires but does not hit anyone. Sam groans in pain and moves to stand up. "Jamie!"

"Brilliant. Why send in a few grunts when you can send in a knight? Say your prayers, Moose. And Nell, I do believe the train is a-coming for you." Abaddon uses her powers to toss Sam through a window that's behind him.

Crowley smiles. "That'll do. Undo these. I'll kill them myself." Abaddon walks from behind Crowley and faces him with a smirk on her face.

"That was an order, was it?"

"I am your King."

"About that..." She punches him in the face. She then punches him in the other hand. "Do you know what I find the most shocking about time-traveling through a closet and landing in the year 2013? She punches him several more times and the last punch hits so hard that his chair falls over and Crowley falls on his face. "Somebody thought it was a good idea to make you the King of Hell."

"You know what that boy's trying to do, right? He's trying to shut the Gates of Hell."

Behind them Jamie opens her eyes. "_Sam, you alright?"_

"_I'm fine. You?"_ Sam voices echoes through her head.

"_I think I'm bleeding. But no sudden movements right now._

"_Fun. Any ideas?"_

"_One. I can torch her meatsuit. It won't kill her but it should buy you enough time to finish the trial." _

"Right now you and I are gonna talk about regime change."

"You little whore." He shouts. "I am your k—"

As Abaddon cuts Crowley off to kick him in the face, Jamie quickly gets to her feet and rushes across the room. Sam slips in from the other side. Abaddon kicks Crowley in the face hard enough to knock him out. As she turns around she sees Sam and Jamie standing behind her. Jamie has her hand out, palm up, fingers clenched.

"I love the suit." She says sarcastically as she opens her hand. Fire swarms from her palm and hits Abaddon. She bursts into flames and begins to scream as she burns. Eventually escapes her demonic vessel in a demon black smoke. The smoke swirls around Sam and Jamie, but Jamie hitches up the sleeve of her black t-shirt, revealing her anti-possession tattoo. The smoke swirls out the broken window.

SAM places Crowley back to an upright position in his chair. Jamie looks out the broken window and then walks over to Sam.

"You did good back there, Nell. I'll deny it if you ever quote me, but I'm a proud man. I'm proud of you." Crowley tells him.

Jamie picks up the spray can to reapply to demon trap. "Thanks." She tells him. Sam nods to his sister.

"Hold on. Uh, w-what's that?" Crowley glances behind him towards Jamie.

"It's what it looks like." She replies repainting the trap.

"Are you joking? I just saved your lives."

Sam laughs. "Seriously?"

"Seriously? Me, seriously? We just shared a foxhole, you two and I. We beat back the Tet Offensive, outrun the -the Rape of Nanking together! And still you're gonna do me like this?!"Sam walks over to Crowley and pulls his head to the side and then sticks the needle into the side of his neck as Crowley yells in pain. He starts to talk with less of a British accent and seems to be speaking nonsense. "Aah! Aah! "Band of Brothers"? "The Pacific"? None of this means anything to you? All those motels, you never once watched HBO, not once? "Girls"? You're my Marnie, Moose. A-and Hannah - she just -she needs to be loved. She deserves it. Don't we all - you, me - we deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved! I just want to be loved."

Sam and Jamie both look curiously at Crowley. "What?"

The demon seems to be confused by what he just said. "What?"

Another hour passes. Sam looks very drained and has a bandage around his arm where he has been taking the blood from. He undoes the bandage as Jamie picks up the syringe. She winces as she stabs the syringe in and begins to take more blood from his arm. Sam winces in pain as she does it.

Behind them Crowley starts to speak again. "Would it be possible, Moose...I'd like...to ask you a-a favor, Sam. Earlier, when you were confessing back there...what did you say? I only ask because, given my history...it raises the question... Where do I start...to even look for forgiveness? I mean..."

Jamie stares at Crowley, and then glances at Sam. Sam walks over to Crowley. "How about we start with this?" Sam holds the needle out to show that's what he means and Crowley tilts his head to the side to submit to taking the injection. Sam sticks the needle in Crowley's neck and he shows no pain but rather seems to be content with it.

Sam walks back over to Jamie, who crosses her arms as she glances at Crowley and then to her twin. Sam gives her a look and then holds out his hand. "I need to know what you see, Jamie." He whispers. "Tell it ends here."

Jamie takes his hand and inhales sharply. After a moment she lets go of his hand. "I don't see anything, Sam."

Sam sighs. "So you don't know if this is it?"

She shakes her head, and then pulls him into a hug. He hugs her back and then exhales sharply. Jamie grabs the book from the altar and holds it open to Sam. He starts to chant the words to purify Crowley. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, hanc animam redintegra, lustra."

Sam tosses the book he was reading the words from behind him and takes out his knife and begin to slice open his palm as the orange glow reappears. With his hand glowing orange Sam walks towards Crowley and is about to place his hand on him when Dean stops him.

"Sammy, stop!" Dean walks towards Sam with his hands up. "Easy there. Okay. Just take it easy. We got a slight change of plan."

Jamie walks over to Dean and Sam. "What? What's going on? Where's Cass?!" She asks, looking around as if expecting the angel to appear.

Dean looks past Sam to Jamie. "Metatron lied." Jamie's eyes widen as she takes this in. Dean looks back at Sam. "You finish this trial, you're dead, Sam."

Sam steps back and looks squarely at his brother. "So?" He quickly whirls around. As Dean and Jamie rush to stop him Sam slaps his hand on Crowley's mouth.

A blinding orange light raises from Crowley and Sam. Sam screams in pain as his entire body turns orange. Dean grabs Jamie and holds her down to protect her. The light pierces through the church spreads over all of them like a sonic boom. As it ends Dean and Jamie look over to see Sam's body lying on the floor, his eyes and mouth frozen open, lifeless. "NO!"

"NO!" Jamie yells coming out of the vision and, grabbing unto Sam before he can slap his hand over Crowley's mouth. "No, Sam. Don't."

Sam looks at her and steps back, breaking out of her grip. He gestures to Crowley. "Look at him. Look at him! Look how close we are! Other people will die if I don't finish this!"

Dean shakes his head. "Think about it. Think about what we know, huh? Pulling souls from hell, curing demons, hell, ganking a Hellhound! We have enough knowledge on our side to turn the tide here."

"But we can't do it without you." Jamie adds.

"You can barely do it with me. I mean, you think I screw up everything I try. You think I need a chaperone, remember?"

Dean sighs. "Come on, man. That's not what I meant."

"No, it's exactly what you meant. You want to know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin was? It was how many times I let you down. Both of you. I can't do that again."

"Sam –" Jamie starts to say.

"What happens when you two've decided I can't be trusted again? Jamie, you gonna leave us again, for months and months at a time. And I mean, Dean who are you gonna turn to next time instead of me? Another angel, another - another vampire? Do you have any idea what it feels like to watch your brother just –

Dean steps forward. "Hold on, hold on! You seriously think that? Because none of it - none of it - is true. Listen, man, I know we've had our disagreements, okay? Hell, I know I've said some junk that set you back on your heels. But, Sammy...come on. I killed Benny to save you. I'm willing to let this bastard and all the sons of bitches that killed mom walk because of you. Don't you dare think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you! It has never been like that, ever! I need you to see that. I'm begging you."

"We're both begging you." Jamie whispers quietly.

Sam pauses for a moment and then looks towards his brother and sister. "How do I stop?" He squeezes his hand as blood drips out onto the floor the orange glow is a little brighter but then starts to fade.

"Just let it go." Dean tells him.

"I can't. It's in me, Dean. You don't know what this feels like." Dean wraps a bandanna around Sam's cut.

"Hey, listen,we will figure it out, okay, just like we always do. Come on." Jamie tells him.

Dean grabs Sam and pulls him in for a tight hug. Jamie joins the hug. "Come on. Let it go, okay? Let it go, brother." Dean whispers.

The orange glow in Sam's arms starts to fade. Sam backs away from Dean and Jamie to look at his arms as the orange glow fades. "Hey, guys." He gestures to his arms.

Dean smiles, wrapping an arm around Jamie's neck. "See?"

Sam starts breathing shakily then doubles over in pain. "Sammy!" Jamie and Dean rush forward.

Dean and Jamie are carrying Sam out of the church, one on each side supporting him. "Sam? I got you, little brother. You're gonna be just fine." Dean tells him.

Sam groans and falls next to the Impala in severe pain. "Stay with us, Sam." Jamie tells him, her hand hovering over his chest. "Sam, Sam?"

"Cass?!" Dean yells as Sam starts to wheeze. "Castiel?! Where the hell are you?" He looks down at Sam. "Sammy!" Sam starts having trouble breathing, he gasps for breath and his color is deathly pale. Jamie grabs unto his hand and leans against him.

"His pulse is weakening." Jamie hisses, her free hand against Sam's neck as she looks over at Dean in terror. "Dean, what do we do?"

Just as Dean starts to answer as bright balls of light appear in the sky. Dean, Sam, and Jamie watch in horror as they begin fall from the sky. "No, Cas." Dean mutters.

Jamie gasps outloud, seeing the wings of one angel seal off as he falls to the earth. "What's happening?" Sam asks, breathing heavily.

"Angels." Dean's eyes are wide with alarm as he watches all the angels fall. "They're falling."

Jamie reaches across Sam and grabs Dean's arm with her free hand. "Mark." She whispers, terror more prominent on her face. As quickly as the lights appeared they all vanish, leaving nothing but blackness.


	60. 308 A very Supernatural Christmas

Christmas music plays, children are playing, and people wearing Christmas costumes are walking around the Christmas village. Dean and Sam walk up and look around. "It does kind of lend credence to the theory, don't it?" Dean remarks.

Sam considers. "Yeah, but anti-Claus? Couldn't be."

Dean snickers. "It's a Christmas miracle. Hey, speaking of, we should have one this year."

"Have one what?"

"A Christmas."

Sam scoffs. "No, thanks."

Dean slaps Sam's chest lightly. "Come on. We got a couple days, we can track down Jamie. We haven't had Christmas with her in years."

Sam looks down. "Yeah, don't remind me."

Dean doesn't notice. "We'll get a tree, a little Boston market, just like when we were little."

Sam continues to walk. "Dean, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know."

Dean stops. "What are you talking about? We had some great Christmases."

Sam turns to him. "Whose childhood are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Sam."

"No, just… no."

"All right, Grinch." Dean says, walking away, a little surprised and disappointed. Sam stands still. Suddenly he notices a reindeer's statue is staring at him. He looks uncomfortable, and after a moment he has a flashback to Christmas Eve in 1991. Their first Christmas without their sister.

Reindeers pull Santa's sleigh across the sky on the TV, which is playing "A Year Without Santa Claus". Sam is wrapping something with newspaper. Dean glances over. "What is that?"

"A present for Dad." Sam tells him.

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, right. Where'd you get the money? Steal it?"

"No." Sam shoots back. "Uncle Bobby gave it to me to give to him. Said it was real special."

"What is it?"

"A pony."

"Very funny." Dean scoffs again. Sam continues to wrap the present. Dean sits on the couch next to him and picks up a magazine.

Sam glances over at him. "Dad's gonna be here, right?"

"He'll be here."

"It's Christmas."

Dean looks up. "He knows and he'll be here. Promise."

"Where is he anyway?"

"On business."

"What kind of business?"

"You know that. He sells stuff." Dean is getting impatient.

Sam still persists. "What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff!"

Sam looks down dejectedly. "Nobody ever tells me anything."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Then quit asking." He walks to the bed, and swipes all the junk from it before opening the magazine.

"Is Dad a spy?" Sam asks, looking at Dean from over the couch.

"Mm-hmm. He's James Bond."

"Why do we move around so much?"

Dean groans. "Cause everywhere we go, they get sick of your face."

"I'm old enough, Dean. You can tell me the truth."

Dean looks at his younger brother seriously. "You don't wanna know the truth. Believe me."

Sam looks down. "Is that why Dad made Jamie leave?"

Dean closes his eyes and sighs. "You know Dad made us promise to never talk about her."

"It's not fair, Dean!"

"Life isn't fair, Sam!"

"Is that why we never talk about… Mom?"

Dean tosses the magazine away angrily and stands up. "Shut up! Don't you ever talk about Mom. Ever!" He heads for the door.

Sam stares after him. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Out." Dean shuts the door behind him and leaves Sam alone.

Sam is still lost in memories when Dean walks up to him. "You'd think with the 10 bucks it costs to get into this place, Santa could scrounge up a little snow."

Sam blinks awakening from his daydreaming. "What?"

Dean stares at him for a moment. "Nothing. What are we looking for, again?"

"Um…" Sam looks around. "Lore says that the anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets."

They start walking around again. "Great. So we're looking for a pimp Santa. Why the sweets?"

Sam shrugs. "Think about it, Dean. If you smell like candy, the kids will come closer, you know?"

Dean glances at him. "That's creepy." Sam chuckles. "How does this thing know who's been naughty and who's been nice?"

Sam pauses. "I don't know."

A man wearing a Santa Claus costume sits outside a small barn. A woman and boy walk up to him. Dean and Sam pause and watch. "So, Ronny, come sit on Santa's knee." The boy sits. "Ah, there you go. You been a good boy this year?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Santa's got a special gift for you." The man's voice is creepy and suspicious.

Dean watches Santa and the boy. "Maybe we do."

Ronny's mother takes his arm and leads him away from the Santa. A woman in an elf costume walks up to Sam and Dean. "Welcome to Santa's court. Can I escort your child to Santa?"

Sam and Dean look at each other. "Uh…"

Dean shakes his head. "No. No. Uh, but actually my brother here… it's been a lifelong dream of his."

The woman Looks at Sam like he's a freak. "Uh, sorry. No kids over… 12."

Sam chuckles softly. "No, he's just kidding. We only came here to watch."

The woman looks at Dean, who shakes his head. She backs off, staring at Sam. "Eww."

Sam's eyes widen. "I-I didn't mean that we came here to w— Y—" Dean looks at Sam. "Thanks a lot, Dean. Thanks for that."

Dean starts to laugh but suddenly turns serious. "Check it out." He gestures to Santa. As he leaves his chair he walks with bad limp. The brothers watch as he limps past them. "Are you seeing this?"

Sam shrugs. "A lot of people walk with limps, right?"

Dean turns to him. "Tell me you didn't smell that. That was candy, man."

Sam shakes his head. "That was ripple, I think. Had to be."

Dean glances at him. "Maybe. We're willing to take that chance?"

That night Sam and Dean are sitting in the Impala, spying on a simple house that is decorated with Christmas lights. Dean leans back and groans, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Same as the last time you asked. Here…" He hands Dean a thermos. "Caffeinate."

Dean takes the thermos and tries to pours coffee into the cup, but the thermos is empty. "Wonderful." He tosses it aside and takes out his phone. He pushes a few buttons and puts it to his ear. After a couple rings he hangs it up.

"Who are you trying to call?" Sam asks, looking over.

"Jamie."

"Dean." Sam rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "We haven't heard from her all year. Face it, she doesn't want to be found."

Dean looks down sadly at his phone. Suddenly he scoffs. "Hey, Sam."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you the boy that hates Christmas?"

Sam looks away. "Dean—"

"I mean, I admit it. You know, we had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids."

"Bumpy"?

"That was then. We'll do it right this year."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Look, Dean. If you want to have Christmas, knock yourself out. Just don't involve me."

Dean looks at Sam in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Me and myself making cranberry molds." They return to watching the house. They see Santa's curtains close. "What's up with Saint Nicotine?"

"Oh, my God!"

Sam and Dean jump out of the car at the sound of the woman's voice and run to the house with their guns drawn. Dean looks inside the window of the front door.

"Huh." Sam says, pausing for a moment.

"What?" Dean asks.

"Nothing. It's just that, uh… well, you know, Mr. Gung Ho Christmas might have to blow away Santa."

Dean opens the door. Santa is sitting on the couch, holding a bong and a bottle of whiskey. He stands up and Dean and Sam quickly hide their guns. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dean looks around and realizes Santa's only watching TV.

"I'm really not interested, okay?"

"Mistle my toe. Roast my chestnut."

He looks at Sam, who shrugs."Ah, w—"

"Jingle my bells?"

Dean opens his mouth and starts to sing, badly. "S-silent night… Holy…" He looks at Sam, who follows him.

"…night." Santa smiles and sits down. "All is well…"

Santa also starts singing "…all is dry."

"Bright. Round and round…" They try to sing although they don't remember the lyrics. "The table…" Sam puts a hand on Dean's shoulder to pull him away.

The next day Dean and Sam are interviewing a woman whose husband disappeared the night before. " So, that's how your son described the attack? "Santa took daddy up the chimney"?" Dean asks.

"That's what he says, yes."

"And where were you?"

"I was asleep and all of a sudden… I was being dragged out of bed, screaming."

"Did you see the attacker?" Sam asks.

The woman shakes her head. "It was dark, and he hit me. He knocked me out."

Dean nods. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard."

Sam looks around and notices something. "Yeah… um, Mrs. Caldwell, where did you get that wreath above the fireplace?" Dean looks around at the wreath.

"Excuse me?"

Dean looks at Sam, waiting for an answer. Sam shrugs. "Just curious, you know."

Dean and Sam walk out of the house. "Wreaths, huh? Sure you didn't want to ask her about her shoes? I saw some nice handbags in the foyer."

Sam rolls his eyes. "We've seen that wreath before, Dean."

"Where?"

"The Walshes'. Yesterday."

Dean pauses. "I know. I was just testing you."

Back in the motel Sam is on the phone. "Yeah, all right. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, Bobby." He hangs up. "Well… we're not dealing with the anti-Claus."

Dean is looking through some papers. "What did Bobby say?"

"Uh, that we're morons." Sam tells him seriously. "Has Jamie called back yet?"

Dean looks at his phone. "No. Why?"

"Because Bobby also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam looks at his laptop.

Dean looks over at him. "Wow! Amazing. What the hell is meadowsweet? And what does that have to do with Jamie?"

Sam looks over at him. "It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore. Which is why I wanted to know if Jamie got back to you."

Dean looks confused. "Pagan lore?"

"Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifices. It was kind of like a… Chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human."

Dean shakes his head, getting up. "Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?"

"It's not as crazy as it sound, Dean. I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan."

Dean gets a cup from the sink and walks over to Sam. "Christmas is Jesus' birthday."

Sam snickers. "No, Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the church and renamed "Christmas". But I mean, the Yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit – that's all remnants of pagan worship."

Dean stares down at him in disbelief. "How do you know that? What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish?" Sam snickers but says nothing. "So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan God?"

Sam nods. "Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, God of the winter solstice." He gets up and goes to sit on the couch.

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths…"

"Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying "Come kill us".

"Great."

Sam is reading in one of the books. "Huh… When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return."

Dean looks down at the laptop. "Lap dances, hopefully."

"Mild weather."

Dean looks out the window. "Like no snow in the middle of December in the middle of Michigan."

"For instance."

Dean sits down. "Do we know how to kill it yet?"

Sam shakes his head, looking at him. "No, Bobby's working on that right now."

"Sounds like Jamie's field."

"Yeah, if she ever gets back to us. But in the meantime we got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths."

"You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?"

Sam exhales. "Let's find out."

Sam and Dean enter enter a Christmas shop. The shopkeeper walks over. "Help you, boys?"

"Uh, hope so. Uh, we were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, uh… well, he hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath, and" He turns to Sam. "I don't know, you tell him."

Sam gives Dean a look. "Sure. It was yummy."

"I sell a lot of wreaths, guys."

Sam nods. "Right, right, but – but you see, this one would have been really special. It had, uh, it had, uh, green leaves, um, white buds on it. It might have been made of, uh… meadowsweet?"

"Well, aren't you a fussy one?" The shopkeeper says, unimpressed.

Dean smiles. "He is…" He laughs and Sam looks at him, annoyed.

"Anyway, I know the one you're talking about. I'm all out."

"Huh. Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?"

"Beats me. I didn't make them."

"Who did?" Dean asks.

"Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free."

"She didn't charge you?" Sam asks.

"Nope."

"Did you sell them for free?"

"Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay a buttload for this crap."

Dean grins. "That's the spirit."

It's night when Dean opens the door to the motel room and turns on the light. Sam follows him in. "How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean asks.

"A couple hundred dollars, at least."

"This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?"

"Well, sounds pretty suspicious." They take off their jackets and sit on the edge of their beds. Sam groans tiredly.

Dean grins and looks over at Sam. "Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?"

Sam stares at Dean. "You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?"

Dean is laughing. "Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great. I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it."

Sam shakes his head. "All right. Dude… What's going on with you?"

"What?"

"I mean, since when are you Bing Crosby all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?"

"Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it."

"Then what?"

"I-I mean, I-I just… I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years."

Dean stares at him for a moment, looking away and then looking back. "Well, yeah. This is my last year." There's a sadness in his voice.

Sam pauses. "I know… That's why I can't."

Dean looks away. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." Dean nods. "I just can't. Jamie can't either. That's why she hasn't called. Why she isn't gonna call."

Dean nods, realizing the sadness in Sam's voice. Both of them are silent.

Sam has another flashback. He's is on the couch reading a comic book. Dean walks inside the room, holding a bag of groceries. "Thought you went out."

"Yeah, to get you dinner." He tosses Sam packaged food. "Don't forget your vegetables." He tosses him another bag of snack food and takes off his jacket, sits down on his bed and opens a drink can. Sam sits on the other bed.

"I know why you keep a gun under your pillow."

Dean lifts his pillow and sees his gun. "No, you don't. Stay out of my stuff."

"And I know why we lay salt down everywhere we go."

"No, you don't."

"And why Dad made Jamie leave."

"Shut up!" Sam turns around and grabs something under his bed. It's John's journal. Sam tosses it onto the nightstand between the beds. Dean stands up. "Where'd you get that? That's Dad's! He's gonna kick your ass for reading that."

"Are monsters real?"

"What? You're crazy."

"Tell me."

Dean looks away and hesitates. "I swear, if you ever tell Dad I told you any of this, I will end you."

"Promise."

Dean sits down and looks at John's journal. "Well, the first thing you have to know is we have the coolest dad in the world. He's a superhero."

"He is?"

"Yeah. Monsters are real. Dad fights them. He's fighting them right now."

"But Dad said the monsters under my bed weren't real."

"That's 'cause he had already checked under there. But yeah, they're real. Almost everything's real."

"Is Santa real?"

Dean shakes his head. "No."

Sam pauses. "If monsters are real, then they could get us. They could get me."

"Dad's not gonna let them get you."

"But what if they get him?"

"They aren't gonna get Dad. Dad's, like, the best."

"I read in Dad's book that they got Mom."

Dean exhales. "It's complicated, Sam."

"If they got Mom, they can get Dad and if they can get Dad, they can get us."

"It's not like that." Dean moves and sits next to Sam.

"Well then why did he make Jamie leave?"

"Cause he had to."

"Why? I don't understand."

"Cause…Cause Jamie looks like Mom, okay?"

"So he thinks that what hurt Mom will go after her?"

"Stop, okay? Dad's fine. We're fine. Trust me." Sam looks sad and worried. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He looks away.

"Hey, Dad's gonna be here for Christmas. Just like he always is."

Sam holds back tears. "I just want to go to sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Sam lies down on the bed and cries quietly. Dean stays sitting on the edge of the bed. "It'll all be better when you wake up. You'll see. Promise."

The flashback ends and a tear falls down Sam's cheek. He looks over at Dean, whose asleep. Quietly he gets up and goes into the bathroom. He dials a number and leans against the sink. It goes to voicemail. "Jamie, it's Sam, I know you're there and so help me God if you don't pick up this phone…"

There's a click on the other end and Jamie picks up. "Sam?"

"Jamie? Hey baby."

"I uh…I know what you're thinking."

"Good, so where are you?"

"Sam…"

"Jamie…all he wants is to have Christmas. Don't we owe him that?" After a moment he realizes Jamie is crying on the other end. "Jamie? Oh god, I'm sorry, don't…don't cry."

"It's not you, Sammy. I just…god I love him so much and I just…I can't accept that he's gonna die. And I'm afraid if I see him again…"

"Maybe that's all the reason to see him again."

The next morning Sam and Dean walk up to a big white house with Christmas decorations on the lawn.

"This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" They walk up to the porch and Dean knocks on the door. Madge greets them.

"Yes?"

Dean grins. "Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths."

"Why, yes I am."

"Ha! Bingo." Dean smiles at Sam.

Sam fake grins. "Yeah? Uh, well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day."

"You were? Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?"

While they talk Dean glances around inside the house. "It is, it sure is. But the problem is, is that all you wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one." Sam tells her.

"Oh, fudge!"

"You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" Dean asks.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season."

Sam feigns disappointment. "Aww…"

"Tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?"

Mr Carrigan comes down the staircase inside the house.

"Why, the smell, of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer."

"Yeah… um, you mentioned that." Sam tells her.

"What's going on, honey?"

"Well, just some nice boys asking about my wreaths, dear."

"Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" He offers them peanut brittle.

Dean reaches out to take some, but Sam slaps Dean's arm away. "We're okay."

Back in the motel Dean sits down on the bed and Sam sits on the couch, opening his laptop when there's a knock on the door. The brothers look at one another and then Sam gets up to answer it while Dean pulls out his gun. Sam pulls the door open to reveal Jamie leaning against the post. She looks tired and pale, dressed in dark jeans and a baggy grey-tshirt, but she's smiling. Dean drops his gun on the bed and walks over to her in disbelief. None of them say anything for a long time. Finally Jamie rushes towards Dean who catches her in his arms. Sam moves over to hug her from behind.

A little while later Dean and Jamie are sharpening a wooden stakes, while Sam uses the laptop. Five other wooden stakes are on the bed and floor near Dean.

Sam claps his hands excitedly. "I knew it. Something was way off with those two."

"What'd you find?" Dean asks, looking up towards him.

"The Carrigans lived in Seattle, last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here in January."

Jamie gets up and goes to look over Sam's shoulder. "So all that Christmas crap in their house – that wasn't boughs of holly. It was vervain and mint."

"Pagan stuff?" Dean asks.

"Serious pagan stuff." Jamie tells him.

"So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?"

"I don't know. All I know we're gotta check them out. So, Jamie, you're sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?" Sam asks, leaning back and looking at his sister.

Dean looks at the stake. "Yeah, she's sure."

That night the siblings walk toward the house. Dean picks the lock. They slowly go inside and Sam passes Dean and Jamie a wooden stake. Dean looks at the couch that still covered with plastic, and whispers. "See? Plastic." He goes into the living room and looks at all the Christmas ornaments, while Sam and Jamie go to the hall, which is also decorated with ornaments and snow globes.

They go into the kitchen and sees plates of cookies and cakes. Sam shines his flashlight on the lock of a door. "Hey, Dean." He calls.

They walk downstairs to the basement with Dean leading the way. He points his flashlight and finds bones covered with blood in a large bowl. Jamie shines her flashlight around the railing and sees a puddle of blood. They check the room and realize the whole basement looks like a butchery room rather than a storage room. Sam and Jamie find a leather bag covered with blood. She cringes. He looks disgusted and moves to another spot. Jamie sees something against the far wall, another bag. She nods to Sam and they walk over to it. He pokes a bag that is hanging from the wall and the bag moves – someone inside is struggling. The twins yell and jump back in horror. Madge grabs unto Jamie and throws her hard into the wall, knocking her unconscious. Sam reactions but she grabs his neck and lifts him off the ground.

"Jamie! Sam!" Dean yells. Madge pushes Sam against a wall and holds him by the throat. Dean runs to him and tries to stake Madge, but Mr Carrigan grabs his arm and knocks his head against a wall. Dean falls to the ground, unconscious. Madge looks at her husband, who smiles and nods and looks back at Sam, who is struggling to breathe.

"Gosh, I wish you boys hadn't come down here." Sam moves his flashlight to the their faces, which appear monster-like when in the beam of the flashlight but turn back to normal out of the light. Madge shoves Sam hard against the wall and Sam falls to the ground.

A number of bowls and a knife are set out on the kitchen table. Sam, Jamie, and Dean are tied up in chairs, back to back.

"Dean? You okay?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, I think so." He answers. "Jamie, you hurt?"

"Just my pride." She mutters.

"You still got your powers?" Dean glances over at her.

"Course I still have my powers. Not that they're doin me a load of good right now."

"Weird, Sam doesn't."

"I know."

Sam sighs. "So, I guess we're dealing with Mr. and Mrs. God." Dean nods.

"Nice to know." Jamie remarks. She struggles against the ropes.

The Carrigans come into the kitchen, dressed in colorful Christmas- themed sweaters.

"Ooh, and here we thought you three lazybones were gonna sleep straight through all the fun stuff." She giggles. Jamie gags.

"Miss all this? Nah, we're partyers." Dean says sarcastically.

Mr Carrigan smokes his pipe. "Isn't he a kick in the pants, honey? You're hunters, is what you are."

"And you're pagan gods." Jamie shoots back.

"Yeah, so, why don't we just call it even and go our separate ways?" Dean suggests.

"What, so you can bring more hunters and kill us?" He laughs. "I don't think so."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you went snacking on humans." Sam tells him.

"Oh now, don't get all wet."

"Oh, why, we used to take over a hundred tributes a year and that's a fact." Madge puts a napkin on Dean's lap. "Now what do we take? What, two? Three?" She put another napkin on Jamie's lap and on Sam's.

"Hardy boys and Nancy Drew here make six." Mr Carrigan remarks.

"Now, that's not so bad, is it?"

Dean rolls his eyes. "Well, you say it like that – I guess you guys are the Cunninghams."

"You, mister, better show us a little respect."

Sam smirks. "Or what? You'll eat us?"

"Not so fast." He looks at Madge who looks excited. "There's rituals to be followed first."

"Oh, we're just sticklers for ritual."

"And you know what kicks off the whole shebang?" Madge smiles.

"Let me guess… meadowsweet." Jamie mutters.

"Oh!" Madge clicks her tongue at her.

"Oh shucks, you're all out of wreaths. I guess we'll just have to cancel the sacrifice, huh?" Dean tells them.

"Oh, don't be such a gloomy Gus." Madge put wreaths around the siblings' necks. "There. Ohh… Don't they just look darling?"

"Good enough to eat." He smacks his lips. "All right-roo. Step number two."

"Make them stop talking. I hate it when they talk." Jamie whines. Dean and Sam smirk lightly, glancing at her.

Mr Carrigan walks to Sam carrying a knife and a bowl. He holds the bowl under Sam's arm and prepares to cut him with the knife.

"Sammy?! Sammy?!" Dean and Jamie both yell.

He slices Sam's arm and collects his blood in the bowl. "D-Don't!" Sam screams.

"Get the hell away from my brother!" Jamie hisses.

"Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" Dean yells.

"Hear how they talk to us? To Gods?" Mr Carrigan remarks, setting down the bowl with Sam's blood and picking up another bowl. "Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshiped by millions."

"Times have changed!" Dean yells.

"Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our – our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters." He walks over to Jamie.

"But did we say a peep? Oh… no, no, no, we did not." Madge adds something to the bowl with Sam's blood.

"You stick that blade in me, you'll be wearing it." Jamie spits, staring at Mr. Carrigan. He smiles and then cuts her arm. Jamie cries out. "I'm gonna kill you, bastard!"

"Jamie! Jamie!" Dean fights the ropes.

"Two millennium." Madge remarks. "We kept a low profile; we got jobs, a mortgage. Wh-What was that word, dear?"

"We assimilated."

"Yeah, we assimilated. Why, we play bridge on Tuesday and Fridays." She picks up a large knife. "We're just like everybody else."

Dean shakes his head. "You're not blending in as smooth as you think, lady."

"This might pinch a bit, dear." Madge comes closer to Dean and slices his arm.

Dean screams. "You bitch!"

Madge looks taken aback. "Oh, my goodness me! Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, do you know what I say when I feel like swearing?" Dean looks Madge in the eyes. "Fudge."

"I'll try and remember that!" He says, his voice breaking.

"You three have no idea how lucky you are. There was a time when kids came from miles around, just to be sitting where you are." He stands in front of Sam with a tool.

Sam looks panicked. "What do you think you're doing with those?"

He smiles.

Jamie closes her eyes and starts chanting softly in Latin. "Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt."

Dean looks at Madge. "You fudging touch me again and I'll fudging kill you!"

"Very good!" Madge slices Dean's other arm and he groans in pain, while Mr Carrigan grabs Sam's hand.

"No! Don't." Sam pleads.

He pulls the nail of Sam's index finger and Sam screams. He holds up the nail. "Oh, we got a winner!"

They put all the ingredients in the bowl and stir them. "What else, dear?"

"Well, let's see. Uh, fingernail, blood. Oh…" He hits his own head. "sweet Peter on a popsicle stick…" He laughs. "I forgot the tooth."

"Oh, dear!"

Dean is breathing hard. "Merry Christmas, Sam." Sam groans. "Merry Christmas Jamie." Jamie chokes out a sob.

Mr Carrigan picks up pliers and grabs Dean's chin. "Open wide… and say, "Aaah." HHe puts the pliers into Dean's mouth and Dean groans. The doorbell rings.

"Somebody gonna get that?" Dean mutters. The gods look each other. Sam looks relieved. "You should get that."

Mr. Carrigan sighs. "Come on." He puts the pliers down and they leave the room, closing the door behind them.

Dean sighs in relief and runs his tongue around his teeth. Jamie opens her eyes and the ropes break from her wrists. She gets up and puts Dean's bonds and then Sam's. "Took you long enough." Dean remarks. Jamie gives him a look. They look around.

The Carrigans open the door to the kitchen and hurry inside. "Now, where were we?"

The two doors to the kitchen close. Sam, Jamie, and Dean are behind them. Dean stands with his back to one while Sam and Jamie are against the other door as the Carrigans try to open them. Dean pulls out a drawer to hold his door closed and goes to help Sam and Jamie.

He leans one hand against the door. "What do we do now? The evergreen stakes are in the basement!"

"Well, we need more evergreen, Dean!" Sam yells.

Jamie looks at the Christmas tree. "I think I just found us some more."

Sam looks at large cabinet next to the door. "Help me get this."

They start to move the cabinet, but Jamie stops them. "Guys, move." They back away and Jamie waves her hand, blocking the door with the cabinet. They rush to push the Christmas tree over as the banging continues. They break branches from the tree to use as stakes. All is silent when they approach the kitchen door. Suddenly Mr Carrigan tackles Dean to the ground. Jamie starts for him, but is blindsided by Madge he who knocks her to the ground and then walks up to Sam.

"You little thing." Her face momentarily distorts. "I loved that tree."

Sam raises his stake. Madge hits Sam hard and he crashes into the couch and onto the floor. Mr Carrigan punches Dean a number of times in the face. Madge walks closer to Sam and he hits her with the branches. Madge is about to attack Sam when Jamie stabs her with the Christmas tree stake from behind. Sam stabs her in front.

"Madge!"

Sam and Jamie push the stakes deeper and Madge groans, while Dean takes the opportunity and hits Mr Carrigan with branches. Sam pushes his stake in further and Madge falls to the ground, dead. Jamie rips her out and whirls around, stabbing Mr. Carrigan in the back. He falls to the ground and Dean stabs him twice and he screams in pain. He lies dead, next to his wife. Sam breathes heavily, while Jamie drops to one knee, taking deep breaths, and Dean sighs in relief. They look at the dead bodies.

"Merry Christmas." Sam remarks. He looks at his siblings, smiles briefly and sighs. Dean shakes his head. Jamie rolls her eyes and snickers, looking at her arms.

Sam has another flashback. It's snowing outside. He is asleep and Dean shakes him. "Sam, wake up!" Sam wakes. "Dad was here. Look what he brought." Dean looks around at a little Christmas tree, decorated with a few lights.

"Dad was here?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. Look at this, we made a killing."

Sam yawns. "Why didn't he try to wake me up?"

"He tried to, like a thousand times."

"He did?"

Dean nods. "Yeah. Did I tell you he would give us Christmas, or what?" Sam looks around. "Go on, dive in."

Sam jumps out of his bed and hurries to the Christmas tree. He finds two presents wrapped with Christmas- themed gift wrap. One of them has green shiny bow. Sam sits on the couch and unwraps his first gift. Dean sits on the other end of the couch and watches, excitedly.

Dean smiles. "What is it?"

"Sapphire Barbie."

Dean chuckles. "Oh, Dad probably messed up your gift with Jamie's. Guess she got the army men instead."

"Shut up!" Sam throws the Barbie onto the ground.

"Open that one."

Sam opens the other present and finds a cheerleading stick. He looks at Dean. "Dad never showed, did he?"

"Yeah, he did, I swear."

"Dean…. Where'd you get all this stuff?"

Dean realizes he can't lie anymore and looks down. "Nice house up the block." Sam looks away. "I swear I didn't know they were chick presents." Sam nods. "Look, I'm sure Dad would have been here if he could."

"If he's alive."

"Don't say that. Of course he's alive. He's Dad."

Sam nods and Dean looks sad. Sam takes the present he wrapped from the pocket of a jacket that is lying over the arm of the couch. He holds it out to Dean. "Here, take this."

"No. No, that's for Dad."

"Dad lied to me. I want you to have it." Sam continues to hold out the gift. Dean looks at it and at Sam.

"You sure?"

Sam nods. "I'm sure."

Dean looks at the gift again and takes it. He unwraps the gift, which is a gold amulet on a black string. "Thank you, Sam. I-I love it." Dean puts on the necklace. Sam nods.

The flashback looks touched with his own memory. Jamie is sitting beside him, holding his hand. Ella Fitzgerald's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" plays as Dean walks into the room. He looks surprised because Sam and Jamie have decorated the room with a Christmas tree and "Merry Christmas" sign.

"Hey, you get the beer?" Sam asks holding a cup of eggnog. He and Jamie get up to greet him.

Dean looks kind of amazed. "What's all this?" He looks at the decorations in the room.

"What do you think it is?" Sam asks. "It's –"

"It's Christmas." Jamie finishes for him.

Dean looks at Sam, who lets out a deep breath. "What made you change your mind?"

Sam doesn't answer. "Here, uh, try the eggnog." He gives him a cup. "Let me know if it needs some more kick." He holds out a bottle of whiskey.

Dean sips it and looks surprised at the taste. "No, we're good."

"Yeah?" Sam asks, excitedly.

Dean smiles. "Yeah." When Sam looks away, Dean changes his expression, like it tastes toxic. Jamie hands him hers behind Sam's back.

"Good. Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do… Christmas stuff, or whatever."

Dean looks at the Christmas tree, which is decorated with lights and car air fresheners. He nods, happy. "All right, first things first." Sam and Jamie sit on the couch and Dean pulls up a chair. He takes two packages wrapped in brown paper from a plastic bag and holds them out to Sam. "Merry Christmas, Sam."

Sam takes them. "Where'd you get these?"

"Someplace special." Sam looks at him as he takes out two more packages and hands them to Jamie. Dean relents. "The gas mart down the street." Jamie and Sam look at each other and laugh. "Open them up."

"Well, great minds think alike, Dean." Sam reaches under the couch for two packages wrapped in newspaper, which he gives to Dean.

Dean looks surprised. "Really?" He takes the gifts.

"There you go."

"Come on."

"Oh, and Jamie." Sam takes out a third package and hands it to her. She smiles at him, and then takes out two packages wrapped similar to Dean's. She hands one to Sam and one to Dean.

"Okay, who goes first?" She asks.

"You should, Jamie." Dean tells her. Sam nods.

Jamie laughs, pulling the paper off her gift from Sam. She smirks seeing that they're roses. "Sam…" She hugs him and he hugs her back. Dean gives Sam a look. He shrugs. Jamie opens her first gift from Dean. It's a bottle of Jack, which she sets on the table with the whiskey, giving Dean an appreciative smile. She pauses after unwrapping the second, and looks at her oldest brother. "Somehow I always figured I'd get these from you." It's a box of condoms.

"Hey, they're half for AJ." Dean remarks with a grin.

"Where is AJ anyway?" Sam asks.

Jamie sighs and grins. "AJ is in Vermont at his mom's house with Aaron and his new wife."

"Oh do not tell me you passed up a real Christmas dinner!" Dean remarks, his eyes wide. "Please don't tell me you passed up a real Christmas dinner to come here and have Christmas with us."

"Oh yeah, and I'm real thrilled I did." She holds up her heavily bandaged arms. "Hey, Christmas is about family, and you two are my family." She pauses. "Though not before I raided the fridge." She picks up a small cooler and opens it, taking out a whole apple pie and a tin of cookies. She hands the apple pie to Dean who sniffs it and looks up at her with a wide grin. "Merry Christmas." She tells him.

"Mrs. Jefferson's homemade apple pie." He plants a kiss on his sister's cheek before she sits back down. He sets the pie aside and opens the wrapped gift she gave him. "H-hey my baby sister got me porn!" He grins. "I'm never gonna get that outta my head."

"Yeah well the custom leather seats for the car didn't come in on time." Jamie says, casually. Dean raises an eyebrow and she smirks. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."

Sam laughs and opens the tin of cookies. He smiles, putting one in his mouth and pulling Jamie into a hug. He starts to open the wrapped gift but Jamie stops him. "You outta open Dean's first."

He looks confused and then he opens his first gift from Dean, which is two porn magazines. He laughs again. "Skin mags!" Dean nods, satisfied with Sam's reaction. He opens Jamie's present, which is KY jelly.

Jamie shrugs. "We coordinated." She nods to Dean. Sam shakes his head, pulling his sister into a tighter hug and planting a kiss on her head.

"And…" He opens the other gift. "Shaving cream."

"You like?" Dean asks.

Sam smiles. "Yeah. Yeah." He nods.

It's Dean's turn to open his presents from Sam. He chuckles and unwrap the gifts."Look at this." He lifts his presents, it's a candy bar and a bottle of oil. "Fuel for me and fuel for my baby." Sam nods. "These are awesome, thanks."

"Good." Suddenly there's a bit of sadness in his face.

Dean lifts his glass of eggnog. "Merry Christmas, guys."

"Merry Christmas." Jamie raises her glass to Dean's.

"Yeah." Sam lifts his eggnog and makes a toast with their glasses. "Here, Merry Christmas."

The three of them are silent, knowing that this could be their last Christmas together. They each take a drink of their eggnog and Jamie whistles softly at the taste.

"Hey, Dean." Sam looks sad and about to say something, but he hesitates, then sighs and looks at Dean again. "Do you feel like watching the game?"

Dean smiles. "Absolutely."

He glances at Jamie who grins. Sam nods. "All right." Sam stands up and turns on the TV. They watch the winter football game. Sam glances at Dean and Dean smiles. He glances at Sam and takes another drink of his eggnog. Jamie looks at Dean and he grins at her. She curls up against Sam's chest and Sam drapes an arm over her.


	61. The Things We Leave Unsaid aka prequel

"I swear to God, John, we make it out of here alive, and I'll cook you Christmas dinner." Dean looked up with a slight smirk, gripping his harness with both hands as he braced his feet against the rocks. The werewolves they'd been hunting had made their den in a mountain slope, and the only way the group of hunters had been able to reach it was to scale the slope with rope and harness. It was painstakingly dangerous, but Dean didn't mind. He enjoyed the challenge, especially because he was youngest member of the group.

He smiled at the variety of men this hunt had drawn. This particular group of werewolves had been uncommonly active, and his dad had been recruited by Joshua and Caleb. Caleb, the seasoned tracker, had found the den almost a week before, and probably would have raided it had the level-headed Joshua not convinced him that a den of a half dozen werewolves required more than two hunters. So John and Dean had joined the hunting party, and so had Pastor Jim. Then last night ol' Bobby Singer showed up to show up the group, and he had yet to stop muttering about what idjits they all were. Dean was glad of it, he loved the company of his surrogate uncle, and many of the other men had a hand in raising Dean and his brother, Sam.

Dean tried not to think about Sam, who was tucked safe away at Stanford, and had been for the last six months. He left in anger, fed up with the life, and it broke Dean's heart. Family was everything to him, and not to have Sammy by his side just felt wrong. Like the world had missed a step.

"Hey Dean, stop day-dreamin and start climbin. I didn't come all this way to look at your perky rear-end, boy." Dean glanced down sheepishly at Bobby for a moment and then hurriedly climbed up after his father. Joshua and Caleb were already on the ledge near the den, and they were hauling up the rope. Dean could hear Bobby cussing below him and he slowed his pace down a little to avoid getting too far ahead.

"Hey Joshua, how's it lookin up there?" His dad's gruff voice sounded across the mountain walls.

"Lookin good John. I think we're in for an easy kill." Joshua called back to him. Dean heard his father gruff in agreement as he reached the ledge. As soon as he was unbuckled he reached down to pull his son up. Dean accepted his father's hand a bit begrudgingly, as he often did when his father made any move to protect him as his son rather than his partner. Joshua, sensing Dean's stir of frustration, called the young over to help checking the ammunition.

An uneasy quiet fell over the group as they loaded their weapons. "Anybody actually have a plan?" Pastor Jim asked softly, glancing up at the group. "Or are we going in half-cocked like usual?" He smirked, passing around an open whiskey bottle.

"Dean is the bait. Caleb and I will back him up. The three of you are second string, come in at the signal and finish the job." John took a long gulp from the bottle and passed it to his son.

"You make it sound so easy." Caleb said with a grin, grabbing the bottle out of Dean's hand before he could drink from it. "What are you staring at, Deuce? You heard your old man, grab your gun and get in there."

Dean remembers standing inside the cave. Just at the point where the light from the torches disappeared and the shadows crept up around him. Gun clenched tightly against his chest he waited. There was movement in the air, and hot breath was suddenly turning at the nap of his neck. In the darkness shapes shifted. Something grabbed him at his leg. He fired. More shots soon followed but the burning sensation traveling up his leg restricted his movement. He was suddenly dizzy and his vision gave out before his body crumbled. He could hear screams, someone was shouting his name, and what sounded like his father yelling, but mostly he just remembers cold blackness.

Pastor Jim put a cold hand over his face and sighed deeply, staring at the reflections of the men through the lapse of flames. They had barely gotten out alive. In some way or another they had been caught. A trap was laid for them. Not half a dozen werewolves lay in wait for the band of hunters, but a solid dozen, and they were angry, and hungry for blood of human hearts. The carnage just inside the cave was enough to turn any man's stomach. And the injuries suffered by the hunters were no less gruesome.

Bobby finished laying stitches into most of the left side of Caleb's face before checking the leg that was broken in three different places. The tracker was mostly out of it, thanks to a mix of whiskey and morphine, but he still winced at any kind of jarring to his leg. Joshua wasn't much better off, his badly broken arm, torn open almost to the bone, was bandaged heavily against his chest and he had stitches clear across the bridge of his nose. Bobby and Pastor Jim escaped with only minor lacerations, the product of a few final swipes by the dying monsters, but John and Dean had gotten the worst of it. John's left side was all but crushed, leg and arm both broken from the werewolf that had leap at him while he tried to get to his son. His face was badly torn up and littered with stitches to control the bleeding. Dean had been clawed to the bone, his ribs badly broken, as well as his right arm, left wrist, and Bobby was fairly certain both legs. His broken ribs were the worst of it, because it meant he couldn't take a full breath without searing pain even drugged up with morphine.

"Any brilliant plans to get us out of this one?" Bobby asked, glancing over at the sighing priest.

Jim looked up at him with graven eyes. "Whose the closest hunter we know?" They needed to get down the mountain. Down the mountain and to a hospital. And to do that they needed help. Lots of help. And more medical supplies, ideally.

"Jefferson." Bobby answered automatically, and then unconsciously looked at John.

"Bobby…" The priest started to argue but the old hunter put up his hand to silence the retort.

"It don't matter right now, Jimmy. We need Jefferson's boys if we're getting these four out of here alive. Johnny can tear us apart for bringing her after we save his life." The her was John's 20 year old daughter, Jamie. The daughter he had not seen in twelve years.

"He doesn't want her in this life." The other man said, firmly. His index finger jabbing the cold rocky floor to make his point. "We have to accept that."

Bobby let out a humorless chuckle. "Where have you been? You've seen that girl clear as day, don't lie about it."

"Yeah, I have seen her. And yes she looks every bit like Mary Winchester and she is John in every other way, but Bobby, that doesn't-"

"Like hell it don't. She aint no rookie in the field, she's as seasoned as they come. You knew Catherine Martin as well as I did, don't try to tell me she didn't raise her any different then John raised the boys. That girl is our only hope now. Sam won't make it out here in time, and that's a can of worms I really aint itchin to open."

In a dimly lit hotel room four figures slumber uneasily. One is laid out on the floor, his shaggy dark hair splayed on the grimy carpet littered with bottles of jack and whiskey. Another, tall and sporting close chopped dark hair, is wrapped in the flowery blanket on the nearest bed, still clad in jeans and boots. In the last bed two drowsy forms are entwined. The smaller, slighter is a pale girl with strawberry blonde hair in falls in waves around her face that's pressed against the bare broad chest of her blonde haired boyfriend.

The sound of the door being kicked in startles all four from their slumber. The sole occupant of the other bed grabs his gun as he sits up, while the boy on the floor scrambles to his feet. "Dad?" whispers the third man, one strong arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, the other clasped around his gun. Anthony Jefferson, once dark hair streaked with gray, and a shotgun strapped to his back stands in the doorway illuminated by the weak morning light.

"We gotta go. Get up, hurry." He speaks gravely, and his weak blue eyes fall on the girl.

"Dad, what's going on?" The taller brunette, Jefferson's eldest son, Aaron, grabbed for a gray t-shirt and forces it over his head. His father is still looking at his brother's girlfriend.

"Jamie…" Jefferson's voice is low and Jamie Winchester closes sapphire eyes with a petulant sigh. "Dean is hurt bad." Are his next words, and the girl's face changes instantly from anger into fear. She squirms out of AJ's hold and grabs for the black tank top and dark washed jeans hanging on a chair.

"How bad?" Jamie asks as she struggles into her clothes. Two years of hunting with Dan Rivers, and Aaron and Andrew Jefferson has removed any dignity she might have. She dresses in the same room as these men, they're her friends, her brothers in arms. Aaron hands her her black leather jacket as she's tying her boots. AJ plots down next to her after hauling on his own jeans and boots, looking for his own leather jacket. "How bad?" She asks again, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Bad enough. Run in with werewolves. Trap." Jefferson kicks Dan in the ribs to get him moving faster. The young man protests but doubles his efforts to get his boots and jacket on. "You four get going, I'll follow. We have to get there fast." He says to eldest, giving him the same trusting, ensuring stare that Jamie remembers her father giving Dean.

"Jefferson." Jamie breathes, as pulls her bag over one shoulder. "Did John send for me?" The old man starts to look away, but Jamie grabs his shoulder. "Did my father send for me?"

"He couldn't." He confesses. "He's dying."

"He's dying." The words haunt Jamie more than spirits in the dark. Her heart pounds and grinds painfully in her chest. Her sapphire eyes weighed down with tears she refuses to shed.

She still remembers the day her father abandoned her. She remembers every detail. How could she not? What eight year old wouldn't remember the day her daddy wouldn't even look at her the moment she woke up? It was warm that morning, her birthday, the sun was already hot as it rose across the sky. She and Sam were born on the opposite sides of midnight, him first, her last. And her father didn't speak to her. Didn't look at her. When Sam asked where they were going, he refused to reply, and Dean had been the one to hurry them into their clothes and out to the Impala.

She knew. She and Dean had overheard her father and Bobby talking the night before. They had hidden behind the stairs, like they always did when their father and Bobby would get drunk at night and tell stories of their hunts. They never let Sammy know they did this. This was their secret. Sam didn't know about monsters yet anyway. She did. She had dreams of her father killing monsters, and she had slept in Dean's bed too many times to not know he kept a gun under his pillow. Dean wised up fast and confessed, even started teaching her how to use his gun, when Sammy was asleep and their father out on a hunt.

She remembers their voices. The sound of Bobby rustling through papers. Of John's low voice heavy with tears, but firm and strong. Her father told her the wendigo attack the night before had been a dream, but now she and Dean knew otherwise. A wendigo had attacked the motel where they were staying. And she had gotten up to get a drink of water when she heard her father come in. Her father had been luring the monster close, so he could kill it, and Jamie had rushed for her father, right into the wendigo's path. John recognized her footsteps too late, and dove, knife in hand, and stabbed the beast to death at Jamie's feet. When he pulled back, blood spurted out, and landed across the little girl's white nightgown. It sent John into a terrible flashback of the night Mary died. And this little girl, with Mary's face, Mary's hair, and blood on her belly, that was enough.

"You sure you want to do this, John?" Bobby had asked. "You're giving up your daughter."

"I don't have a choice anymore." Came her father's reply. Dean had grabbed her and held her tight. "I won't let her end up like Mary."

"She won't ever really be out. You know that."

"I know. But I'd rather she be safe until she's old enough to defend herself."

"I have a place, then. Mercyhurst in Pennsylvania. There is a nun there, a hunter, by the name of Catherine Martin. She's a wealth of knowledge and experience, seen her share of the life. She'll understand. But you know Jamie will never forgive you for this. And neither will Sam and Dean."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. They'll see her again, I know it, but for now she'll be safe."

That conversation played through her head that morning. The ride was long, and she slept for most of it, but she remembers Dean's angry glare pitched at her father. She remembers wondering why they stopped at an old bricked over school, and why there was a nun waiting for them. The woman greeted her father by name, while Dean helped Jamie out of the car. Sam was still asleep inside, and Dean locked the backseat doors when he helped her out. She clung to his jacket, her small fingers wrapped tightly around the leather. "It's gonna be okay, Jamie." Dean whispered, smoothing back her hair as he lead her round to where her father and the nun stood. Her small backpack, glinting blue in the early afternoon sun, was enclosed in her father's hand. Dean shoved her forward to her their father, and then leaned back against the Impala, looking away.

John handed her the backpack, and she took it obediently. He pulled a silver charm bracelet from the pocket of his jacket and held it out for her to see. Charms in the shape of religious symbols glistened in the light. "This belonged to your mother." He told her, slipping it on her thin wrist.

"Daddy." She said softly, a deep frown creasing her features.

John licked his lips and kneeled down in front of her. "Semper et in Saecula." He muttered.

"Always and forever." She said back, feeling tears starting to form.

"Usquequo te amabo et salvabo pro." His green eyes focused on her face.

She nodded. "How long I will love you for." It was his way of telling his daughter he loved her. It was the first words in Latin Jamie had learned. They would not be the last. John nodded to the nun, and she took the girl's hand, leading her away. Jamie didn't look back.

Mercyhurst Preparatory School is a boarding school in Pennsylvania, near Lake Erie. It's run by the Sisters of Mercy, and it's normally the home of high school aged girls, but Jamie wasn't exactly sent there for school. She was sent to live in the cloister, to be educated by the sisters until she was old enough to attend classes. Disguised as the orphaned goddaughter of Catherine Martin, John's instructions included not allowing her to use the name Jamie Winchester, instead she was to be known as Jace .

If John's intentions were ever to keep her from hunting, they were lost almost immediately. Catherine taught her Latin and Greek, taught her lore, let her read every book about every monster known to man, demon, and angel. By the time she was old enough for classes she could translate almost any ancient language. Raised a devout Catholic, she was a natural exorcist. Paired with the fearlessness of her father, and the stubbornness of her older brother, she grew into a hunter. At 15, after witnessing Catherine attacked by a vampire, she was baptized into the life, sneaking out at night to banish ghosts and exorcize demons. She hid salt rounds under her mattress, and stitched gashes in the girl's bathroom after lights out. The second she turned 18 she packed her stuff, and left without looking back.

That's when Jefferson found her. At first glance there wasn't much to the short, slight eighteen year old with wavy blonde hair pinned back, and wide sapphire eyes, dressed in ripped jeans and a black tank top under a slim fitting leather jacket and hiking boots. He was slightly skeptical that a girl, even a Winchester, raised in a convent could be much of a hunter. But Jefferson would never forget the way she carried herself: confident, a little arrogant, strong, her father's daughter. She had John's presence, he would never despite that. Ever. And she was John's daughter, when he watched her hunt, watched her move, she moved like a Winchester, and she had the bullheaded shoot-first-ask-questions-later attitude. She couldn't have been anymore like her father then if John had raised her himself.

"Aaron and I will ride with Jefferson." Dan's voice breaks Jamie's thoughts and she looks up with a slight shudder.

AJ is nodding, the keys to her beloved black silverauto pickup in his hand. "We'll follow you. Let's go." He grabs her arm and she quickly hurries beside him to the truck. "We're going to save them, Jace." He slips one hand into hers, his fingers are icy in her flaming grip. Fire and Ice. Aaron and Dan teased them relentlessly that it was love at first sight, and it was. They would never admit it, but it was. She was fire to be tamed, and he was ice to be shattered. They completed each other. They made each other whole.

He was…sorta how she imagined Dean would be: strong, and silent, and cold and just very rough around the edges. But at the same time, he would let down his guard around her. He was open to her. He liked to drink and fuck, but what twenty one year old guy didn't, but he also liked to talk, at least with her. Her life, herself, it intrigued him for one reason or another. He liked to listen to her stories. They talked about hunting, about lore, about the right way to kill a vampire or skin a wendigo, but they also talked about music, and movies, and the future. He never judged her. He tried to own her, to contain her, even though she was his. And when he looked into her eyes he never say her as anything but what she was. And she never saw him as anything but what he was. He was Andrew James Jefferson, period. Not AJ the hunter, or AJ the conartist mechanic, just AJ. She was Jamie Cameron Winchester, period. Not Jace the hunter, Jace the vampire slayer, Jace the girl who was great at hustling pool and cheating at poker, just Jace.

"Jace?" He glanced over at her, about a hundred miles later. "You're quiet." He said softly, blue eyes still flickering over the road.

"I'm just…I feel guilty." She admitted. "I hate him, AJ. I hate him so damn much." Hatred, anger, they were the default emotions she put up to avoid feeling terrified and helpless. But mostly she was worried for Dean. If Dean died she'd never forgive herself. But her father. A small part of her beckoned her to not care, as long as Dean lived, not to care.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay. There's a lot emotions getting thrown around right now. Just don't…don't get consumed, okay." He squeezed her hand. Okay.

Bobby groans in annoyance when weak light from the rising sun penetrates his eyes. He rubs them with the back of his hand and glances around the cave. Pastor Jim is squatting beside the smoking embers from last night's fire. He turns slightly and nods to the old hunter. "Jefferson is on his way. Should be here in about an hour."

Bobby nods, getting to his feet despite the protest in his back. He adjusts the cap on his head and then stares around at the other hunters. "What's the damage report?" He asks.

"Well Joshua's gonna keep that arm, I think. No infection. Caleb is still kinda out of it but I expect by the time Jefferson gets here he'll be kicking up a fuss. John's burning up, I got him knocked out but he really aint great."

"And Dean?" The old priest looked at Bobby with solemn eyes and Bobby didn't dare ask again. He simply glanced in the direction of Dean's cot. "Damnit kid." He breathed. "Just hang on a little longer. Your sister is coming for ya."

"Jesus fucking Christ." Dan spat unto the ground and then lit a cigarette as he stared up at the mountain. "They're all the way up there?"

Aaron rolled his eyes as he got some more gear out of Jamie's truck. "Yeah, they're up there. And we gotta go get um." He opened a duffel and pulled out nylon cord and utility belts. "You're going first, princess."

Dan's face fell and he nearly choked on the cigarette. "What? You're kidding me! I've never rock climbed in my life!" Aaron tossed one of the belts to him and then stood up to strap into his own harness. "I'm a smoker!" He protested again, vainly, as Aaron walked away.

"Jamie, you alright?" Her boyfriend's big brother approached where she was busy strapping in. She looked up from her belt and nodded. "Good. Now you're the lightest so I want you going last. Once AJ and I make it up, we can basically pull you and the supplies up, alright?"

"Yeah. Alright." She said softly, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. He gave her a look and she replied with a confident nod.

"Okay, here's the bag." AJ brought the bag over and strapped it carefully unto his girlfriend.

"Get your ass climbing, boy!" Aaron yelled to Dan who muttered something under his breath before starting up the mountain. "Faster!"

AJ and Jamie looked at each other and laughed softly, before walking closer to the rocky walls. This wasn't the first time Jamie had been rockclimbing. She went once on a school trip. Under any other circumstance she might have actually enjoyed it, but her mind was on her father, and her brother. She climbed at a hurried pace, until Aaron yelled down that she was going too fast.

"Bobby! Jimmy!" Dan yelled, as he reached the edge. "Someone gimme a hand." He coughed bitterly as he was helped unto the ledge and crawled forward before starting to unbuckle himself.

"Hey guys." Aaron pulled himself up unto the ledge, followed shortly by AJ. The two brothers then pulled Jamie up behind them. Jamie hastily moved to unbuckle herself from the harness and the bag. "Woah. Woah, Jace, calm down."

"Get this off me! Get this off me!" She demanded. AJ grabbed her hands and Aaron unstrapped her himself. Once she was free she rushed into the cave, only to be caught in Bobby's arms. "Bobby." She breathed in the scent of whiskey and knew him immediately.

"Hey. Hey. Jamie, my god. Let me look at you a minute." The old hunter stared her up and down, his heart warmed by the sight of her.

"Later Bobby." She moved out of his grip and walked further into the cave.

"Jamie." Caleb said weakly, knowing the girl on sight. "Look at you."

"Hey Caleb." She said softly, not stopping. John's cot was the closest, but she needed to see Dean. "Dean." Her breath caught in her throat when she saw her older brother, torn to hell, pale, and shivering. "Oh God." She sunk to her knees and grabbed Dean's hand. "Dean."

He didn't respond to her voice. His eyes remained shut, his body continued to quake with tremors, but he didn't squeeze her hand. He was oblivious to her presence. AJ stopped a few feet behind her, not wanting to get closer. He knew better. He watched silently as she brushed the bandage on his face, taking in the features mingled by ripped flesh and dried blood. She racked her fingers through his light brunette hair, not caring that dirt and blood stuck to her skin.

"We can't move him. He'll die on the way down. Unless he gets stronger by some miracle, he's not going to make it." Pastor Jim laid a warm hand on AJ's shoulder.

AJ cast a sideways glance in the priest's direction. "So what do we do? Pray?" He spat the word bitterly. His girlfriend might be a devout Catholic, a quiet practitioner of an ancient religion, but he was staunchly atheistic. He had seen enough to not believe in a merciful God, if God existed he was a dick. Granted, Jamie thought the same way. She didn't practice religion for God, she practiced it for the ritual, for the strength to repel demons, for archangel she held close to her heart, for the Virgin mother she had looked to in the absence of her own. Pastor Jim frowned as the boy's tone.

Aaron approached and stood at his brother's other side. "Deuce is barely hanging on?" It was a question that needed no answer. The older brother studied his younger brother's face in the weak light.

"This is going to kill Jamie." He hissed. "Do you understand? If Dean dies it will tear her apart. Nevermind what this will do to Sam."

Aaron nodded as he crossed his arms and took a breath. "Alright. We're not just going to leave him. We're going to get him stronger. Dan and I will help Bobby and Pastor Jim take Joshua, Caleb, and John out of here, and then I'll come back to help you and Jamie."

"No. I'm not going anywhere." Bobby protested, walking over to them. "I love that boy like a son. I aint about to leave him."

"Bobby…" Aaron said gently. "You're hurt."

"It's a couple of scratches. Nothin I aint had and fought with before. I'm stayin, boy, besides I out rank you, and I got more medical experience between the three of ya."

"Alright. Dan, come on." Aaron turned around and walked back to the opening of the cave.

"Jamie." The blonde looked up towards where Caleb was calling for her. "Come over here and help a soldier up." Reluctantly Jamie dropped Dean's hand and backed away slowly, going over to help her father's best friend. "My god, you're a sight." He said groaning painfully as she got him unto his feet. He leaned into her heavily. "You've got Johnny's constitution."

Jamie rolled her eyes, glancing at him. "You're high off the morphine."

"Shut it, girl. I'm complimenting ya." He shot back as she held him steady for Aaron and Pastor Jim.

"Being compared to my father is hardly a compliment in my book." She told him as she watched them taking him down.

"It should be." It was Joshua. Jamie turned around at the low voice. Her father had designated Caleb to watch over her while she was a child at Mercyhurst, she had kept in contact with the arms dealer mostly because she had run away a couple times and Caleb had always been the one to find her and bring her back. After she left Caleb sometimes hunted with her and her friends. But Joshua, she had not seen Joshua in twelve years. Even now, seeing the large, tired, middle age African American with big dark eyes almost intimidated her. Almost. "It should be." He repeated.

"Hi Joshua." She said softly, walking over to him.

"You look like your mother. You got her colorin' and her eyes." He told her, those wide dark eyes focused on her face. "But Cal's right, your presence is all Johnny. You stand like him, you carry yourself like him, that arrogant Winchester swagger, and hell you probably shoot like him." He was trying to coax a smile out of her and he got a small one. He smiled to see her smile. "You smile like him too. It's not a bad thing, honey; you should appreciate the things your Daddy gave you. You might not remember it all, but one way or another, the woman you are is cause of him. Now help an old man get down this hill would ya?"

Once Joshua and Caleb were down with Jefferson Jamie stood hesitantly looking at her father's cot. "He's not going to be happy to see me." She said, looking to Bobby and Aaron.

"He's half out of it. He's not gonna know you're actually here." Bobby waved off her doubts and went over to the cot. "John, time to wake up, we gotta get you out of here."

John opened his eyes slowly, groaning softly with the pain that came. "Bobby? How's Dean?" He cared about his kids. He may not have always shown it, but he cared a lot. And nothing, not injury, not even death could make him forget that Dean was badly hurt.

"We're gonna take care of Dean." Bobby said softly. "But you first."

"No." He protested. "Dean's hurt worse. You gotta help him."

"Daddy." Jamie forced out. John's deep green eyes rapidly moved in her direction. Her voice was unmistakable. Her shoulders were trembling, and she wrung her hands, staring almost frightened at her father.

"Bobby…wha-"

"You and Dean need help. I'm the help." She said, taking a step forward. Her father raised his shoulders, still staring at her.

"Mary?" He asked, his eyes filling with horror. "Mary, what, but how…"

Jamie blinked back tears. "No Dad." She muttered, shaking her head.

"Jamie." He closed his eyes with a deep sigh. "Oh god, girl. What…what the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I called Jefferson." Bobby answered. "We needed his boys and Jamie to get you idgits off this mountain."

"Bobby-"

"Shut up, Winchester. Your boy is gonna die unless we can stabilize him and get him off this rock. You can put aside this stupid disregard you have for your own daughter for a couple days."

Jamie turned away, wiping away tears with an impatient hand. She really didn't expect this to go any differently. She knew her father would not be happy to see her. She knew her father wouldn't be happy that she was a hunter. But her father's happiness didn't matter. Her brother was what mattered now. She knelt down at Dean's side and grabbed his hand, tuning out the sounds of her father cussing Bobby's out.

"Jace, we're moving him now." Aaron put his hand on her shoulder. "No change with Deuce huh?" He knelt down beside her, his blue eyes wandering over her brother.

"He's still out, yeah. Pulse is thready. Breathing is labored." She told him.

"John just talk to her for 5 fucking minutes!" Bobby swore behind them. "She's a lot like you, I'm sure you got something in common, if nothing else the bullheaded arrogance is a dead ringer."

Aaron glanced at Jamie and rubbed her arm comfortingly. She pulled away from him and grabbed unto Dean's hand. "Hey Dean, it's me. It's Jamie. I know you're in there, big brother. You gotta fight through this." She squeezed his hand.

"I don't want to talk to her, Bobby. I don't want her here. She should have never-"

"Will both of you shut the hell up!" AJ yelled shoving between the two of them. He pointed firmly over to Jamie and Dean. "Deuce is dying, and right now Jace is the only person who can help him. So both of you put your junk away and stop arguing about my girlfriend." He glanced between Bobby and John. "Sirs." He added, swallowing thickly.

Dean's emerald eyes slowly opened. His vision was hazy at first, as the numbness of unconsciousness gave way to searing pain. But through the pain he heard her voice. At first it had been his mother, but as it continued he realized it wasn't her, it was the other. The voice he had dared not even hope to hear again. His sister's voice. "Ja-Jay…" His swollen throat could not form the syllables.

"Oh my god, Dean." The blonde haired girl lurched forward and gently laid her head on his chest. "Oh my god. I'm gonna get you out of here, big brother. I'm gonna get you help. You're gonna be okay. Just stay with me. You can hear my voice, just stay with my voice."

"Deuce is conscious." Aaron said, turning back to the group.

"His vitals are stabilizing for now, but I doubt they'll last. We've gotta move him now." Jamie said firmly, raising her head towards Aaron.

"Alright, chance of plans Deuce goes first. AJ, help me. We gotta work around Jace."

"Get me strapped in, you two are gonna have to help me take on his weight."

"Ugh!"

"Jace?" Twin sets of eyes as blue as Jamie's own fly up to meet hers.

"I'm alright, he's just heavy."

"Slow down a little, AJ. It'll keep some of the pressure off Jace."

Dean's vitals are stable as long as he knows his sister is with him. The warmth of her skin forces heat back into his body. The smell of her hair lights up his senses. The sound of her voice keeps him from slipping away.

Before he realizes it's happened, he's off the mountain. Suddenly a warm blanket takes the place of his sister's skin. His head is pillowed, and he's moved without jarring. He fights the urge to sleep. He fights it hard, grabbing unto Jamie's hand and squeezing for dear life. She doesn't stop speaking. She babbles on about the Jay Hawks, and when she can't find anything else to say about them, she starts speaking to him in Latin even though he can only understand a word or two. At one point she starts to sing.

She sings Hey Jude and it sounds like his mother singing, so much so it startles him and he forces his eyes open for a long moment. It's the first time he's able to really look at his sister. Her complexion is ruddy from the sun and the heat and years of hunting, but underneath the damage done it's ivory pale and beautiful. There are dark circles under her eyes and it makes her irises look like sapphires. Her hair is blonde, but the tint it carries is a pale orange instead of sandy. It's naturally wavy, like their mother's, like Sam's. And he's almost happy to find a glimmer of Sam in her, because she resembles himself so much.

"Where's Dad?" His voice is weak, barely there, and it hurts to talk.

"With Aaron and Bobby." She answers. "Don't try to talk, Dean."

"They're right behind us, Deuce." AJ adds from the driver's seat.

He doesn't want to shut his eyes. He doesn't want to drift off. He doesn't want to let her go. But the lights of the emergency room roll past him, the damn oxygen mask over his face, and the stabbing burn of an IV, and the voices, they all force his eyes closed. "Jamie!" He manages to yell, but it's muffled. One of the nurses is pulling her away, but he's got ahold of her hand and he's not gonna let her go.

"Please. I'm his sister, please." He hears her beg. "He needs me." And then it's black again. AJ grabs Jamie around the waist, holding her still as Dean's stretcher is raced down the white-lit hallway. "He needs me." She whispers, and her boyfriend's head comes down unto her shoulder.

Bobby and Jefferson come out to them sometime during the night. Aaron is asleep, uncomfortably, in one of the waiting room chairs, his head resting on his arm that's propped up over the back. Dan's chin rests on his palm, his eyes screwed shut and muscles tensed. Jamie is sprawled out on a couch-like chair, her head on AJ's lap. He's awake, though, and he cautiously shakes her shoulder to awake her. "What's going on?" It's Aaron who asks, jolted awake by the light sounds of footsteps.

"Well Joshua and Caleb are free to go, I'm gonna run them up to Rufus's cabin for a couple weeks or so, and then I'm sure we'll be trappin after something." Jefferson explains.

Aaron nods. "Alright, Dad. What do you want us to do?"

"Got word of a murder up in Camden."

Dan's head comes up and he snickers. "Yeah Camden is kinda known for that sorta thing."

"In a locked house, with no windows broken. The murder weapon aint got fingerprints." Jefferson shoots back, a little annoyed. Dan shuts right up.

"Right. You and I better get to checking that out." Aaron gets up and grabs his boots.

"What about us?" AJ asks, turning to his father.

"Well Johnnie and Deuce are pretty banged up." Jefferson tells him, purposely not looking at Jamie.

"Yeah. Lookin at probably a three or four day stay, and then we're truckin back to my place so Dean can heal up." Bobby adds. "If John aint got a problem, then you two are welcome to come back with me. I could use the help."

"If John aint got a problem." Jamie echoes.

"Hell, any other situation I'd say to hell with John's opinion, but Dean needs some serious healing and…"

"Nah, I got it." She stands up and rolls her shoulder. "Can I see Dad?"

"Sam is gone, Dad. He aint coming home anytime soon! I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere." The daughter stubbornly crosses her arms over her chest and stares hard at her father, who sets his jaw and gives her the same arrogant, ardent look.

"What is it gonna take for you to get it, girl?" John sneers, his voice drips venom. "I don't want you here." It's a lie. And under the anger and the fake-hatred John knows it's the worst lie he's ever told in his life. He wants his daughter with him. He wants to see her every day, and not from afar or hear about her from friends and other hunters. He wants her by his side, with her brothers, where she belongs. He wants his family whole. But he promised Mary he'd protect his daughter, and the farther she is from him, the safer she'll be. For now. Watching her face, the way her eyes go wide and tears well up, but are quickly suppressed with renewed anger, and hatred. A defensive reaction, just like her brothers. He'd be damned, she is just like them. "Jamie…" His voice is softer now. "I didn't…" But it's too late. She rushes out of the room, and he knows he's not gonna see her again for a long time, if ever. He's gonna take this and every other thing to his grave. The things he wants to tell her, the things he leave unsaid, will haunt him to his death.

There are tears in her eyes when she says goodbye. And she makes sure she says goodbye, because her father can go to hell, she's spent twelve years dreaming of seeing her family again, and she deserved to have this moment with her brother, Dean deserved a proper goodbye.

The monitors are beeping quietly, and she tries to not look at all the wires and tubes. It's a mess of snake-like figures all coiled around her pale and battered brother. "Next time we meet let's not do this, okay bro?" She says quietly from across the room. It takes her a minute. She has to force herself over to the bed, but as soon as she's there she grabs his hand and slips her fingers between his. "Look don't…don't yell at Dad when you wake up, okay? He's not worth it."

She rubs her thumb over the pale skin on her brother's hand, the friction creating a bit of warmth. "I love you Dean." There's a dragging sensation the next time her thumb passes over the spot. In her mind something pulls at her. Strained like unbound coil her mind is suddenly wrapped with images that play quickly before her eyes. Two years down the road, in front of an old house in Lawrence she's got her arms around her brother, with Sam standing just behind, looking bewildered and amazed. Three years, her blonde hair dyed dark, she's standing beside her brothers in an open field, watching a body go up in brilliant bright flame. Four years and Sam's face, cold and still as a corpse invades her sight. Five years, Dean's bloody body graces her lap. In six years she sees herself display powers she can only imagine, while a trenchcoated angel watches from the sidelines. Seven years and she stares the devil in the face, only he has her twin brother's eyes. Eight years, her shoulders ache from the strain of holding wings. Nine years and she reaches down to stroke her pregnant stomach. A decade in the future and there's a blue eyed boy in her arms who looks just like Dean. Another year, she holds that boy in one arm, while with the other extended a demon bursts from its meatsuit in black smoke. When the smoke vanishes she looks down and sees Dean's hand once again. Her eyes are heavy and her head hurts as she staggers back, unable to process what has just happened.

"Jamie?" AJ is standing outside the door, and he steps forward to grab her. "What is it?"

"I'm alright. It's nothing." She tells him, taking a step forward again. "You ready to go?" She does look at him. She's holding Dean's hand again. He can hear the anguish in her voice. "We should probably head up after Aaron and Dan."

"Yeah. Yeah we should." He agrees.

She nods, and then bends forward, bringing Dean's hand up to her lips. "I'll see you later, bro." She whispers into the scarred, callous flesh. And she means it. She knows that now.

A few weeks later…

An old wooden door is pried open, and the inhabitants of the back-woods bar, hunter-friendly by the looks of the symbols carved into the beams, all turn to see two blonde haired figures. The girl enters first, she's wearing jeans, and a leather jacket that she takes off as she enters the room. There's mud on her boots and her tank top and red flannel shirt are stained with blood. The man's jeans are slashed, and stained so that no one can tell which is blood and which is dirt. His heavy leather jacket hides a gunshot wound that immobilizes his right shoulder for the time being. They both wear guns and knives at their belts. Their expressions are dark.

"Howdy." The bartender calls. "What can I do for you two?"

AJ looks up, his expression still dark but stoic. "We ganked a shifter just outside El Paso, we need a place for the night."

Jamie nods, moving her hair back from her face. "And we need to know where we can find the nearest arms dealer. We're out of silver bullets."

"I got a spare room upstairs, and Roy over here can get ya what you need." The pudgy bartender says carefully, his sharp eyes never leaving their faces. "What are your names?"

"I'm AJ Jefferson."

The bartender's eyes light up in recognition. "You're ol' Anthony Jefferson's boy."

"I am."

He nods to Jamie. "This your girl?"

Jamie scoffs, tensing slightly at the implied context. "I'm nobody's girl. I'm Jace Winchester."

"Winchester?" One of the patrons looks up towards her. "You John's kid? The hunter there's been talk about?"

Jamie is quiet for a moment. "No, sir. I'm not that hunter," She finally answers. "I am the Other."


End file.
